Hyperprolactinemia in Functional Dyspepsia: The Entangled Domperidone Link

Cureus. 2023 Dec 21;15(12):e50927. doi: 10.7759/cureus.50927. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Abstract

The commonest medications prescribed in functional dyspepsia are prokinetic agents, specifically domperidone. However, its administration at times elevates serum prolactin levels, which can lead to pathological hyperprolactinemia. The present study investigated the effect of 28 days of 30 mg domperidone therapy on prolactinemia in functional dyspepsia patients. We recruited 97 patients (60 men and 37 women, aged 18-80 years) who had functional dyspepsia diagnosed as per the Rome IV criteria. After taking a preliminary clinical history, we measured and compared serum prolactin levels at day 'zero' and day 'twenty-eight'. We found increased prolactin levels from day '0' to day '28' after treatment with domperidone in functional dyspepsia patients, specifically in male participants aged less than 40 years, who are married and belong to middle socioeconomic status. The most common functional dyspepsia symptom found was pain in the epigastric region. To conclude, our pragmatic domperidone-induced-hyperprolactinemia link warrants this side effect to be robustly taken into account while treating functional dyspepsia patients with domperidone.

Keywords: comparative prolactin levels; domperidone; functional dyspepsia; hyperprolactinemia; prokinetic drugs.