Review Article: Mechanisms and Efficacy of Using Diphenhydramine as a Chemotherapy Premedication

The use of chemotherapeutic agents can cause side effects that have a negative impact on the patient's quality of life and have the potential to cause unexpected reactions. This reaction is known as a hypersensitivity reaction where. This reaction occurs at therapeutic doses that resemble an allergic reaction. The effects of these reactions can range from mild to life-threatening. The use of diphenhydramine as a chemotherapy premedication has been widely studied for its effectiveness in reducing the risk of hypersensitivity and toxicity from the use of chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, this review article aims to provide an understanding of the importance of the use of premedication, as prevention of hypersensitivity reactions and reduce the potential for toxicity from the use of chemotherapeutic agents. The method used in this literature study is to identify and review various research articles through the MeSH PubMed database, ScienceDirect with the keywords “Diphenhydramine”, “Prevention”, “Premedication”, “Hypersensitivity Reaction” “Toxicity” and “Chemotherapy” as relevant references. An analysis was conducted on relevant research articles related to the mechanism and efficacy of diphenhydramine in the use of chemotherapy. The research article that forms the basis for writing this literature study, as a whole, shows that the use of diphenhydramine as an anti- histamine is one of the effective prophylaxis that can be used before the use of chemotherapy agents to minimize the occurrence of unwanted hypersensitivity and toxicity effects.