Cyclic vomiting syndrome: case report and short review of the literature.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a functional disorder that is considered to be a manifestation of migraine diathesis. It is characterized by stereotypical episodes of severe nausea and vomiting lasting several hours or days, with return to baseline health between episodes. CVS is still an insufficiently known syndrome among physicians, and is therefore often misdiagnosed. Treatment focuses on the different phases of CVS, with interepisodic prophylaxis, abortive therapy in the prodromal phase of CVS, and supportive care during an acute vomiting episode. Anti-migraine medications have been effectively used for prophylaxis in many patients. We report a case of CVS successfully treated with flunarizine, a non-selective calcium antagonist.