Hey y'all, if this is the first time we're meeting, hi, my name is Stacey, I'm a paramedic instructor, and today's Monday. You know what that means? It is Medication Monday, and today we're going to be talking about Ondansetron, aka Zofran. So like I said, Ondansetron's brand name is Zofran, and it falls under the drug class of antimedics, and it's also a serotonin receptor antagonist. So what's the mechanism of action, or how does it work in the body?
Zofran works in the body by antagonizing the 5-HT3 receptors. And by doing this, this blocks the action of serotonin. And these receptors are located in the brain and the GI tract. And oftentimes, a big release of serotonin can cause nausea and ultimately end up in vomiting. So we hope that by administering Zofran, especially when the patient is nauseous, we can avoid it leading to more nausea or vomiting.
The indications of Zofran or the reasons that we administer it are nausea and vomiting. And your contraindication for Zofran administration is going to be long QT syndrome. Before we get into dosages, make sure you abide by your local protocol and stay within your scope of practice.
The typical dose for Zofran is going to be 4 to 8 milligrams. This can be given IV, IO, IM, and PO. And the typical pediatric dose is going to be 0.15 milligrams per kilogram. Luckily, there are not a lot of side effects reported with Zofran, but it can cause some dysrhythmias.
It can lead to a headache and sometimes constipation. And specifically with the pregnant patient population, oftentimes with medications, we run into issues of safety for mother and for fetus. But with Zofran, depending on your protocol, I realize they vary from area to area.
Zofran is typically pretty safe in these situations for hyperemesis and or severe morning sickness. Another medication that you might see recommended for this situation would be diphenhydramine or Benadryl. And that's pretty much all I have for you about Zofran, but I do want to know, do you feel that Zofran is an effective anti-emetic?
I've heard people say that Zofran is trash and it doesn't work at all, but I have personally seen it work on nausea. Not so much vomiting, but I definitely have seen it work on nausea and I'd love to hear your experiences with it.