The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has moved to protect a small but vulnerable group of patients by adding a formal contraindication for domperidone in those with confirmed or suspected phaeochromocytoma.
This update, issued on 21 July 2026, follows a handful of reports of severe hypertension triggered by the drug. Product information for all domperidone-containing medicines has now been revised accordingly.
Domperidone, a dopamine antagonist prescribed for nausea and vomiting, sees roughly 222,000 items dispensed each year across NHS England. Yet phaeochromocytomas, rare tumours of the adrenal gland, affect just 19.8 people per million globally and are frequently spotted only through incidental scans.
A European review examined four cases in which the medicine appeared to provoke dangerous blood pressure surges or unmask previously undetected tumours. The UK has recorded no Yellow Card reports of this specific combination, but the MHRA has aligned with the broader safety findings.
The UK’s Pharmacovigilance Expert Advisory Committee of the Commission on Human Medicines endorsed the recommendations. Patients already taking the drug who fall into this category must stop immediately and move to an alternative treatment.
