A comparison of cathartics in pediatric ingestions
One page on PainSci cites James 1995: Does Epsom Salt Work?
PainSci notes on James 1995:
This paper compared the effectiveness of different laxatives, showing that Epsom salts do indeed move the bowels along … but not as quickly as sorbitol.
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the mean time to first stool, number of stools, and side effects of three commonly used cathartics in pediatric ingestions.
DESIGN: This prospective clinical trial was a randomized, double-blinded comparison of sorbitol, magnesium citrate, magnesium sulfate, and water, administered with activated charcoal in the treatment of pediatric patients 1 to 5 years of age with acute ingestions. Outcome parameters were mean time to first stool, mean number of stools during 24 hours, and side effects.
RESULTS: One hundred sixteen patients completed the study. Significant differences in mean time to the first stool were detected among cathartic agents (F = 9.29), with sorbitol-treated patients having a shortest mean time to the first stool (mean, 8.48 hours). Sorbitol produced a significantly higher number of stools (mean, 2.79) in the 24-hour follow-up period than other cathartics (F = 3.49). The most common side effect of cathartic administration was emesis, which occurred more commonly in sorbitol-treated patients.
CONCLUSION: Sorbitol, when administered with activated charcoal in the treatment of children with acute ingestions, produced a shorter time to first stool and more stools than magnesium citrate, magnesium sulfate, or water.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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