A Randomized Comparison of Ginger and Dimenhydrinate in the Treatment of Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy
Densak Pongrojpaw MD*, Charinthip Somprasit MD*, Athita Chanthasenanont MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Pathumthani
Objective : To study the efficacy of ginger and dimenhydrinate in the treatment of nausea and vomiting in
pregnancy.
Study
Design : Double blind randomized controlled trial.
Setting : Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thammasat Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat
University.
Materials and Methods : Between January 2005 and December 2005, 170 pregnant women who attended at
antenatal clinic Thammasat University Hospital with the symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy were
randomly allocated into group A (n = 85) and group B (n = 85). The patients in group A received one capsule
of ginger twice daily (one capsule contained 0.5 gm of ginger powder) while the patients in group B received
the identical capsule of 50 mg dimenhydrinate twice daily. The visual analogue nausea scores (VANS) and
vomiting times were evaluated at day 0-7 of the treatment.
Results : There was no significant difference in the visual analogue nausea scores (VANS) between group A
and group B in day 1-7 of the treatment.The vomiting episodes of group A were greater than group B during
the first and second day of the treatment with statistically significant difference. No difference in vomiting
episodes during the day 3-7 of treatment was found in both groups. There was a statistically significant
difference in the side effect of drowsiness after treatment in group B greater (77.64%) than group A (5.88%)
(p < 0.01).
Conclusion : From the presented data, ginger is as effective as dimenhydrinate in the treatment of nausea and
vomiting during pregnancy and has fewer side effects.
Keywords : Ginger, Dimenhydrinate, Nausea, Vomiting
