Cimetidine Oral: Anesthesia Aspiration Prophylaxis
Effervescent cimetidine guidance for prophylaxis of acid pulmonary aspiration syndrome in anesthesia settings.
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Source reviewed
source date listed on the source page
Guide category
Oral drugs
Safety boundary
Prescription medicine information for clinician-guided use.
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Therapeutic action
Antiulcer agent (histamine H2-receptor antagonist).
Indications
- Prophylaxis of acid pulmonary aspiration syndrome in anaesthesia in patients with a full stomach, including emergency caesarean section.
- When a difficult intubation is expected.
Forms and strengths
- 200 mg effervescent tablet.
- Also comes in 800 mg effervescent tablet.
Dose and duration
- Adult: 200 to 400 mg single dose, if possible one hour before anaesthetic induction.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- May cause diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, skin rash, and fever.
- Do not administer with an antacid such as aluminium hydroxide.
- Effervescent cimetidine can be replaced by effervescent ranitidine, another H2-receptor antagonist, as a single dose of 150 mg.
- The onset of acid inhibition with non-effervescent cimetidine or ranitidine tablets is around 30 minutes after administration. Effervescent tablets containing sodium citrate have a more rapid onset of action and can be used for emergency surgery.
- Omeprazole is not compatible with emergency situations because it must be administered at least 4 hours before surgery.
Source
MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)
This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.
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