28
Views
16
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Gastrointestinal transit times of a charcoal/sorbitol slurry in overdose patients

, &
Pages 91-99 | Published online: 25 Sep 2008
 

Abstract

Gut decontamination with a slurry of activated charcoal and sorbitol is one of the methods presently available to decrease total body burden of ingested drug. This one year retrospective audit of patients presenting with a history of recent toxic ingestion was designed to determine the time to stool of a charcoal/sorbitol slurry (CSS) when used for differing ingestants. A total of 69 patients received a CSS. 50.7% took less than 6 hours for their first charcoal stool, while 26.1% had emesis of the CSS within 30 minutes of administration. Ingestion of drugs which may increase gastrointestinal transit time (i.e. opioids, cyclic antidepressants) correlated with prolonged time to stool despite treatment with the CSS. Though a prospective, controlled study needs to be performed, variation in dosage of the CSS may be appropriate in select patient groups to offset the effects of the ingestant on bowel motility.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.