Nonantibiotic Therapy for Travelers' Diarrhea

Several trials have shown that nonantibiotic drugs are efficacious in the treatment of travelers' diarrhea. When compared with placebo (P < .025), bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) taken orally at a dosage of as low as 30 ml every half hour for eight doses was shown to be effective in red...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reviews of infectious diseases 1986-05, Vol.8 (2), p.S202-S206
Main Authors: Charles D. Ericsson, Herbert L. Du Pont, Johnson, Philip C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antidiarrheals - therapeutic use
Bacillary dysentery
Biological and medical sciences
Bismuth
Bismuth - therapeutic use
Capsules
Clinical Trials as Topic
Diarrhea
Diarrhea - drug therapy
Dosage
Drug Combinations - therapeutic use
Dysentery
Enkephalin, Methionine - analogs & derivatives
Enkephalin, Methionine - therapeutic use
Enkephalins
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Humans
Loperamide - therapeutic use
Medical sciences
Organometallic Compounds
Placebos
Salicylates
Salicylates - therapeutic use
Sulfamethoxazole - therapeutic use
Symptoms
Travel
Travelers
Treatment
Trimethoprim - therapeutic use
Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
Tropical medicine
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Summary:Several trials have shown that nonantibiotic drugs are efficacious in the treatment of travelers' diarrhea. When compared with placebo (P < .025), bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) taken orally at a dosage of as low as 30 ml every half hour for eight doses was shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of episodes of diarrhea. Preliminary results indicated that loperamide (two 2-mg capsules followed by one capsule after each loose bowel movement) was more effective (P < .025) than bismuth subsalicylate in relieving diarrhea. Likewise, preliminary results showed that BW942c, an unlicensed endorphiniike pentapeptide, offered more relief of diarrhea in the first 12 hr of therapy than did trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (P = .02) or placebo (P = .0007). Use of a nonantibiotic drug for empiric treatment of travelers' diarrhea appears to be a reasonable approach, especially for patients with mild to moderate disease and with no evidence of high fever or dysentery.
ISSN:0162-0886