Abstract
A prospective study was done to compare the efficacy of gastric emptying achieved by gastric lavage (GL) with that of ipecac-induced emesis (IE) in victims of drug overdose. Thiamine was used as a marker of recovery in gastric samples, as measured by ion exchange/ion pair high-performance liquid chromatography. There were 51 patients in the IE group and 37 in the GL group. GL produced a higher mean per cent recovery of thiamine than did IE (90% ± 34% compared with 50% ± 35%). There was a significant difference between the two groups (P < .001). Recovery of thiamine was more than 70% in 28% of the IE patients, and exceeded 70% in 75% of GL patients. When gastric emptying is desired for management of the adult overdose victim, the use of GL maximizes the chance of recovering unabsorbed liquid drugs from the stomach.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 692-698 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Annals of Emergency Medicine |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1986 |
Keywords
- emptying
- gastric
- ipecac
- lavage
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Emergency Medicine