A randomized comparison of vitamin B6 and dimenhydrinate in the treatment of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting are the common symptoms of early pregnancy. Without treatment, vomiting can complicate the pregnancy, so it must be reduced. Wide varieties of treatment have been used for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. This study compared the effectiveness of vitamin B6 and dimenhydrinate for gestational nausea and vomiting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty pregnant women with a gestational age of <16 weeks who had symptoms of nausea and vomiting were selected. They were randomly allocated into group A (n = 70) and group B (n = 70). The patients in group A received a vitamin B6 tablet, while the patients in group B received a dimenhydrinate tablet daily; the tablets were identical in appearance. The degree of nausea and vomiting was assessed by physical symptoms of Rhodes score. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-five women returned to follow-up. Dimenhydrinate and vitamin B6 significantly reduced nausea and vomiting scores from 8.3 (7.4) to 2.8 (2.0) and from 8.6 (2.9) to 3.8 (2.3), respectively. The mean score change after treatment with dimenhydrinate was greater than with vitamin B6. CONCLUSION: Both dimenhydrinate and vitamin B6 were effective in the treatment of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Dimenhydrinate was more effective than vitamin B6.