Domperidone for mothers of very preterm infants

[Deena Yael Meerkin]

Is it safe to reccomend use of Domperidone for mothers of very low birth weight preterm infants? Is it necessary to rule out cardiac disease in the mother beforehand?

[admin]

Deena:

First, the risk of prolonged QT is largely dose related, the higher the dose, the higher the risk. That said, the amount of domperidone that enters milk is minimal, only 0.01% - 0.35% of the mothers dose. We know the oral absorption is exceedingly low, only about 10-14% in humans. Thus the amount of domperidone an infant is likely to receive and absorb orally is incredibly low.

Lastly, premature infants are known for having some arrhythmias early on that stabilize after several weeks in many of them. Thus I'm not sure it would be worthwhile to "rule out cardiac disease" at an early stage, as so many of them have irregular heart rate anyway. But that's something a pedi cardiologist would need to decide.

But just remember, the amount of domperidone that an infant would receive at this stage of development, is exceedingly low.

Tom Hale Ph.D.