Histamine 1 receptor antagonist in symptomatic treatment of renal colic accompanied by nausea: two birds with one stone?

OBJECTIVE

The pain-relieving efficacy of antagonists of histamine 1 (H1) receptors that are widely found in the ureter and that cause contractions in renal colic was presented in comparison with a placebo.

METHODS

Eighty-six patients who presented to the emergency service because of renal colic accompanied by nausea, and who had urinary system stones detected were included in the study. The patients were separated into 2 groups by double-blind, random assignment. The 45 patients in group 1 received 50 mg intramuscular (IM) dimenhydrinate. The 41 patients in group 2 received 2 mL IM saline solution as a placebo. The visual analogous scale (VAS) values were detected at referral of the patients and at 10, 20, and 30 minutes of therapy to detect the pain intensity. Verbal descriptive scale (VDS) was used for evaluation of nausea and vomiting before and after the therapy.

RESULTS

VAS values were statistically quite low in group 1 at 10, 20, and 30 minutes of therapy. VDS scores were also statistically significantly low in group 1 at 30 minutes of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Dimenhydrinate, which is an ethanolamine group H1 receptor blocker, appeared to be effective compared with the placebo in relieving renal colic pain and nausea and vomiting symptoms in patients. Comparative studies with other analgesics will be useful for determining how to use this agent for analgesic purposes in renal colic.