Adult cyclic vomiting syndrome successfully treated with intranasal sumatriptan.

Author(s): Kowalczyk M, Parkman H, Ward L

Affiliation(s): Department of Internal Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, 3401 N. Broad Street, 4th Floor, Zone B, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA. kowalczykmonik@gmail.com

Publication date & source: 2010-01, J Gen Intern Med., 25(1):88-91. Epub 2009 Nov 13.

Publication type: Case Reports

Cyclic vomiting syndrome is an increasingly recognized cause of nausea and vomiting in adults. We report the case of a 47-year-old man with recurrent episodes of intractable nausea and vomiting for one year. His symptoms persisted for 4-7 days and then resolved spontaneously, only to return after periods of time ranging from one week up to a month. After an extensive workup, which failed to determine any causative explanation for his symptoms, he was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome. His episodes of vomiting were successfully terminated with the use of intranasal sumatriptan. In this case, we highlight that sumatriptan effectively aborted symptoms in an adult patient with cyclic vomiting syndrome. Increasing physicians' awareness of adult cyclic vomiting syndrome may improve care of patients suffering from this debilitating condition.