Background

The Allurion (formerly Elipse) intragastric balloon (IGB) is a newly developed swallowable balloon for the treatment of obesity. Most studies that evaluate the incidence of nausea and vomiting after balloon placement use Aprepitant for prevention of these side effects. We aimed to compare the use of aprepitant versus alternative antiemetic medication for prevention and treatment of symptoms after Allurion balloon placement.

Methods

We included 295 adult patients who underwent Allurion Balloon insertion. We compare data of post-procedural symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and tolerability of Allurion IGB between patients who received Aprepitant and those who receive alternative medication such as dimenhydrinate or ondansetron.

Results

The mean age was 39.6 and 67% of patients were female. 46.5% of patients in the aprepitant group required stylet assistance compared to 38.4% in the non-aprepitant group (p=0.214). There was a significant difference between the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (RINVR) mean score between the aprepitant group and the non-aprepitant group (7.8 vs. 11.2, p<0.001). A significantly higher percentage of patients who received Aprepitant had none or mild symptoms compared to the patients who did not receive aprepitant (17.8% and 45.5% vs. 3% and 41.8%, p=0.001). There were no significant differences in the percentage of patients who required IV hydration or endoscopic balloon extraction between those groups.

Conclusions

Aprepitant significantly decreases the incidence of symptoms after balloon placement compared to alternative anti-emetic medication. However, it is not associated with decrease in the requirement of IV hydration or removal due to intolerance.