FDA Moves to Limit Loperamide Doses per Package
(MedPage Today) -- Aimed at discouraging use of the drug to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms (Source: MedPage Today Gastroenterology)
Source: MedPage Today Gastroenterology - January 30, 2018 Category: Gastroenterology Source Type: news
FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA warns about serious heart problems with high doses of the antidiarrheal medicine loperamide (Imodium), including from abuse and misuse
[06-07-2016] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription diarrhea medicine loperamide (Imodium), including through abuse or misuse of the product, can cause serious heart problems that can lead to death. (Source: FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research - What's New)
Source: FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research - What's New - January 29, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
The 8th Annual Alexander Awards: The Best Tox Reading of 2017
Alexander Gettler
Once again, last year’s outstanding examples of long-form journalism dealing with topics related to medical toxicology were dominated by coverage of the opioid crisis, its origins and the resulting carnage.
The must-read article of the year was “The Family That Built a Empire of Pain,” Patrick Radden Keefe’s massive history of the Sacklers, one of America’s richest clans, much of whose wealth comes from their ownership of Purdue Pharma and the marketing and distribution of Oxycontin.
The article, which appeared in the New Yorker, notes that the clan’s patriarch, Arthur...
Source: The Poison Review - January 2, 2018 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Gussow Tags: Medical 2017 Alexander awards opioids Purdue Pharma Sackler Source Type: news
Drug safety update: Loperamide (Imodium): reports of serious cardiac adverse reactions with high doses of loperamide associated with abuse or misuse
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a drug safety update following reports of cardiac events including QT prolongation, torsades de pointes, and cardiac arrest in (Source: Royal Pharmaceutical Society News)
Source: Royal Pharmaceutical Society News - September 29, 2017 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Manchester father died of accidental overdose of Imodium
Aaron McCaffrey (pictured), 27, from Manchester became addicted to diarrhoea-relief tablets that he had stockpiled. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - August 16, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Intentional misuse and abuse of loperamide: a new look at a drug with "low abuse potential" - Borron SW, Watts SH, Tull J, Baeza S, Diebold S, Barrow A.
BACKGROUND: Despite its opioid properties, loperamide has long been thought to have low abuse potential due to its poor absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and limited potential to cross the blood-brain barrier. A recent patient reportedly taking lo... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - May 19, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
Loperamide, the "poor man's methadone": brief review - Stanciu CN, Gnanasegaram SA.
Loperamide is widely available as an inexpensive, over-the-counter remedy commonly used for management of diarrhea. Although an opioid, at therapeutic doses it acts primarily on the gastrointestinal tissues; however, larger than recommended amounts facilit... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - May 19, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
Mommy And The Beast: Growing Up Under The Lingering Shadow Of Breast Cancer
Tomorrow she will graduate from kindergarten. I will be thankful that I was there, present in my mortal body, for at least one graduation of hers, be it from Montessori school. There will be no gowns or hats neither will she know what it means to me, but that is just fine. She is excited about wearing her pretty beaded dress and singing a “Good Bye Song”. I am planning not to wear mascara and to use a waterproof eyeliner. I will drag myself to get dressed and go as I am still exhausted from chemotherapy. I will take some Imodium so I can last through the 90 minutes without rushing to the restroom.
She has been ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - May 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Loperamide misuse and abuse - Miller H, Panahi L, Tapia D, Tran A, Bowman JD.
OBJECTIVE: The epidemic of opioid prescription deaths in recent years resulted in the recent rescheduling of hydrocodone-containing products to restrict access to them. Opioid users have recognized that loperamide can ameliorate withdrawal symptoms and als... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - February 16, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
Cardiac Dysrhythmias After Loperamide Abuse -- NY, 2008-2016 Cardiac Dysrhythmias After Loperamide Abuse -- NY, 2008-2016
This report indicates that abuse of loperamide, an over-the-counter antidiarrheal with opioid-receptor agonist properties, is on the rise--and high doses can result in serious cardiac toxicity.Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - December 9, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Emergency Medicine Journal Article Source Type: news
Loperamide abuse and cardiac dysrhythmia
3.5 out of 5 stars
Cardiac Dysrhythmias After Loperamide Abuse — New York, 2008-2016. Eggleston W et al. MMWR 2016 Nov 18;65:1276-1277.
Full Text
Last week we reviewed a new paper showing that the number of cases of loperamide abuse reported to the National Poison Data System increased by 91% from the years 2000 to 2015. For reasons detailed in that review and in my recent Emergency Medicine News article on the topic, massive doses of loperamide can alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms and also produce opioid-like effects.
This very brief report has some interesting clinical and epidemiological nuggets. The authors l...
Source: The Poison Review - November 25, 2016 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Gussow Tags: Medical cardiotoxicity ecg ekg electrocardiogram imodium loperamide Source Type: news
Notes from the field: Cardiac dysrhythmias after loperamide abuse - New York, 2008-2016 - Eggleston W, Marraffa JM, Stork CM, Mercurio-Zappala M, Su MK, Wightman RS, Cummings KR, Schier JG.
Loperamide is an over-the-counter antidiarrheal with opioid-receptor agonist properties. Recommended over-the-counter doses (range = 2-8 mg daily) do not produce opioid effects in the central nervous system because of poor oral bioavailability and P-glyc... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - November 19, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
