The subcutaneous administration of granisetron, an antiemetic pharmaceutical drug (suitable for control of vomiting), achieves similar blood concentrations to those administered intravenously.
This was the conclusion of clinical tests undertaken by specialists at the University Hospital of Navarra, the results of which have been recently published in the prestigious North American medical journal, The Oncologist.
Granisetrón is a pharmaceutical drug the efficacy of which against vomiting (antiemetic), when administered orally or intravenously, has already been shown, but never studied when given subcutaneously. The research shows that the antiemetic granisetron, administered subcutaneously, behaves in a similar manner as when injected intravenously. The advantage of the subcutaneous method is the ease of treatment for non-hospitalised patients. For these patients using the intravenous method it is problematic, requiring, as it does, specialised care; while administering orally may involve the patient vomiting.
This is why subcutaneous administration opens new perspectives, providing a comfortable and easy way of home-based treatment, either with self-medication by the patients themselves or administered by their carers, in either case reducing the dependence on trained medical personnel.