Domperidone and the Risk of Serious Adverse Events
Domperidone Dose and the Risk of Serious Adverse Events in Older Adults With Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease: A Population-Based Cohort Study Research Protocol
2 other identifiers
observational
15,000
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This study will assess whether initiating domperidone at doses ≥30 mg/day compared to \<30 mg/day in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) (estimated glomerular filtration rate \[eGFR\] \<45 mL/min/1.73 m² but not receiving dialysis) is associated with a higher 30-day risk of a composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization or all-cause emergency visits or all-cause mortality.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for all trials
Started Jan 2008
Longer than P75 for all trials
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
January 1, 2008
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
September 30, 2024
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
October 30, 2024
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
June 6, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
August 1, 2025
CompletedAugust 1, 2025
July 1, 2025
16.8 years
June 6, 2025
July 24, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Number of participants with a composite outcome of all-cause hospitalization or all-cause emergency visits, or all-cause mortality
All-cause hospitalization, all-cause emergency visits, and all-cause mortality will be combined into a composite measure. Only the first hospitalization and first emergency department visit occurring after the cohort entry date will be considered.
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Number of participants with all-cause hospitalization
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
Number of participants with all-cause emergency department visits
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
Number of participants with all-cause mortality
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
Other Outcomes (2)
30-day hospital encounter with composite outcome of Atrial Fibrillation/flutter or ventricular arrhythmia or other arrhythmia
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
30-day hospital encounter with composite outcome of delirium or falls or encephalopathy, or CT scan of the head
Exposed cohort to domperidone (high dose (≥30 mg/d) versus low dose (<30 mg/d)) will enter the cohort between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2024, and will be followed until study outcome (first event), death, or 30 days from the cohort entry date.
Study Arms (2)
Low dose of domperidone <30 mg/day
Residents of Ontario and Alberta aged 66 years or older with advanced CKD with an eGFR of less than 45 mL/min/1.73m² (excluding individuals undergoing dialysis or those who have received a kidney transplant) who have filled a new oral prescription for domperidone (low dose \<30mg/day) at an outpatient pharmacy under Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program from January 1, 2008, to September 30, 2024. The date when the prescription was filled will serve as the patient's entry or index date for the cohort, with each patient entering the cohort only once. The accrual period for Alberta will be determined.
High dose of domperidone ≥ 30 mg/day
Residents of Ontario and Alberta aged 66 years or older with advanced CKD with an eGFR of less than 45 mL/min/1.73m² (excluding individuals undergoing dialysis or those who have received a kidney transplant) who have filled a new oral prescription for domperidone (high dose ≥ 30 mg/day) at an outpatient pharmacy under Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program from January 1, 2008, to September 30, 2024. The date when the prescription was filled will serve as the patient's entry or index date for the cohort, with each patient entering the cohort only once. The accrual period for Alberta will be determined.
Interventions
The primary exposure of interest will be oral domperidone at a dose of 30 mg or more per day, which represents the median dose found in high-throughput computing analyses. For the primary comparison, oral domperidone at doses below 30 mg per day will be chosen to reduce the influence of indication bias.
Eligibility Criteria
Older adults aged 66 years or older with advanced CKD who filled at least one outpatient prescription for oral domperidone between 2008 and 2024 in Ontario, and Alberta
You may qualify if:
- Older adults aged 66 years or older who filled a new oral prescription for domperidone at an outpatient pharmacy under the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program from January 1, 2008, to September 30, 2024. The investigators will exclude individuals undergoing dialysis or those who have received a kidney transplant. The age criterion is set to guarantee that individuals in this population had at least one year of prior prescription drug coverage. The date when the prescription was filled will serve as the patient's entry or index date for the cohort, with each patient entering the cohort only once.
You may not qualify if:
- The investigators will exclude patients with unusual daily doses of less than 10 mg/day or \>40 mg/day for domperidone. The recommended maximum daily dose for domperidone is 10 mg three times daily (30 mg/day). Some patients may require doses up to 4 times daily.
- To ensure that patients are new domperidone users, the investigators will exclude those with any evidence of domperidone use in the 180 days before the index date.
- Patients with more than one eligible domperidone prescription on the index date will be excluded, as this complicates the ability to ascertain the prescribed dose accurately.
- The investigators will exclude patients with a prescription for any other prokinetic drugs and non-oral study drugs in the previous 180 days (including index date) (Note: - Gastrointestinal drugs (Cisapride, Metoclopramide, Domperidone, Prucalopride, Linaclotide)).
- Patients with a history of kidney failure (receipt of maintenance dialysis or a kidney transplant before cohort entry).
- The investigators will exclude patients discharged from a hospital or emergency department within the two days preceding the index date. In Ontario, when patients initiate a domperidone prescription during a hospital admission, their outpatient prescription is typically dispensed on the day they are discharged or the following day.
- Patients with no serum creatinine measurement in the seven days prior to the year before the index date will be excluded. Patients with unstable baseline kidney function (i.e., if the most recent prior serum creatinine test was an inpatient test \[ER or hospitalization\] and if the corresponding eGFR differed from the most recent outpatient test by 10 mL/min/1.73 m2 or more). Previously been demonstrated that outpatient serum creatinine measurements in the province, conducted on a single occasion, indicate stable values.
- The investigators will exclude patients with eGFR ≥45 mL/min/1.73 m² - to restrict to patients with low kidney function only.
- If more than one eligible prescription is available, restrict it to the first. The date of this prescription will be the index date.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute
London, Ontario, Canada
Related Publications (28)
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Related Links
- Government of Canada. Summary Safety Review - DOMPERIDONE - Serious abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death (cardiac arrest)
- Domperidone: Drug information - UpToDate
- Domperidone (Product Monograph)
- CPS \[Internet\]. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Pharmacists Association; c2017 \[updated 2017, November 01\]. Domperidone \[product monograph\]
- ICES. ICES data \[Internet\]
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Amit Garg
London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute
Study Design
- Study Type
- observational
- Observational Model
- COHORT
- Time Perspective
- RETROSPECTIVE
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
June 6, 2025
First Posted
August 1, 2025
Study Start
January 1, 2008
Primary Completion
September 30, 2024
Study Completion
October 30, 2024
Last Updated
August 1, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-07
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share
The dataset from this study is held securely in coded form at ICES. While legal data sharing agreements between ICES and data providers (e.g., healthcare organizations and government) prohibit ICES from making the dataset publicly available, access may be granted to those who meet pre-specified criteria for confidential access, available at www.ices.on.ca/DAS (email: das@ices.on.ca). The full dataset creation plan and underlying analytic code are available from the authors upon request, understanding that the computer programs may rely upon coding templates or macros that are unique to ICES and are therefore either inaccessible or may require modification.