Seizure Associated with Use of Visicol for Colonoscopy

To the Editor: Visicol has been prescribed more than 210,000 times since its introduction last year. The letter by Mackey et al. (June 27 issue) 1 describes four patients with seizures after the use of Visicol for colonic cleansing and suggests that the risk of seizures may be greater with this prod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe New England journal of medicine Vol. 347; no. 4; pp. 295 - 296
Main Authors Rose, Martin, Jacob, Leonard S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Massachusetts Medical Society 25.07.2002
Subjects
Cathartics - adverse effects
Colonoscopy
Humans
Hyponatremia - chemically induced
Hyponatremia - complications
Phosphates - adverse effects
Polyethylene Glycols - adverse effects
Seizures - etiology
Vasopressins - blood
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Summary:To the Editor: Visicol has been prescribed more than 210,000 times since its introduction last year. The letter by Mackey et al. (June 27 issue) 1 describes four patients with seizures after the use of Visicol for colonic cleansing and suggests that the risk of seizures may be greater with this product than with other purgatives. We take issue with this suggestion. All four patients discussed by Mackey et al. had severe hyponatremia, which was the most likely cause of their seizures. Hyponatremia could have resulted from sodium losses through gastrointestinal mechanisms or sweating, excessive free-water ingestion, and excessive secretion of . . .
ISSN:0028-4793
1533-4406
DOI:10.1056/NEJM200207253470418