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Hiccups - Management
How should I manage persistent or intractable hiccups?
- Refer to secondary care for further assessment or treatment of the underlying cause, unless it can be easily diagnosed and managed in primary care. Which specialist to refer to, and the urgency of referral, will depend on the suspected underlying cause.
- While the person is waiting to be referred:
- Advise on physical manoeuvres, if they have not already been tried.
- Consider prescribing drug treatment for adults if physical manoeuvres are not effective.
- Seek specialist advice if drug treatment is being considered for a child.
- In a palliative care situation, referral may not be appropriate where hiccups are known to be a complication of cancer (e.g. gastric distension). If the hiccups are difficult to control with drug treatment, seek advice from a palliative care specialist.
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