An open study to assess the safety, tolerance and pharmacokinetics of an intravenous infusion of granisetron given at 3 mg over 30 s in patients receiving chemotherapy for malignant disease.

Granisetron is a highly potent and selective 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist indicated for the prevention of cytotoxic-induced nausea and vomiting. Clinical trials have demonstrated granisetron to be effective and well tolerated at a standard dose of 40 micrograms/kg or 3 mg given i.v. as a 5-min infusion. In this study, the efficacy and safety of granisetron given as a 30-s infusion was assessed. A total of 21 patients, scheduled to undergo chemotherapy, received a single 3-mg i.v. dose of granisetron over 30 s, completed at 1 h before chemotherapy administration. Patients were allowed two further i.v. doses of granisetron at 3 mg within the 24-h assessment period. Changes from baseline values in vital signs were analysed prior to granisetron administration and at 30 s as well as 1, 10, 15, 30 and 60 min after granisetron administration. Holter ECG recordings were taken for 6 h prior to and 1 h after administration. No significant change was found in vital signs at 30 s or 1 min after granisetron infusion. There was a small but statistically significant fall in diastolic blood pressure as compared with baseline and a non-significant trend in favour of a reduction in heart rate at 10 and 15 min. No ECG abnormality was recorded post-infusion that had not been present pre-infusion. None of these changes was considered to be clinically relevant. The treatment was well tolerated. The most frequently reported adverse events were constipation (n = 6) and headache (n = 5). Maximal plasma levels of granisetron were within the range of 44.57-410 ng/ml except in one patient. The median values recorded for peak concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) were 195 ng/ml and 71.2 ng h ml-1, respectively. In conclusion, granisetron at 3 mg was shown to be safe and well tolerated when given as a 30-s i.v. infusion to patients receiving chemotherapy for malignant disease.