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In the January issue of Prescrire International:
Domperidone - QT prolongation in infants

Summary

Domperidone is a “hidden” neuroleptic, mainly used for symptomatic treatment of gastroesophageal reflux.
It can prolong the QT interval, thus predisposing patients to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia such as torsades de pointes. A French study of 31 newborns and infants receiving domperidone showed statistically significant QTc prolongation. These data confirm that domperidone should not be used to treat mild regurgitation in infants.
In practice, physiological gastroesophageal reflux is transient and harmless, and does not justify exposing newborns and infants to the adverse effects of domperidone, especially its potentially severe cardiac effects.
Lifestyle measures should be tried first for infants with physiological gastroesophageal reflux: they include adjusting the infant’s position before and after meals, thickening the formula and slowing its delivery rate, and timing meals appropriately.

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