Activated charcoal

 

   

  •     Na me of product: Activated charcoal    

  •  Dosage  form: Powder

  • Strength:  50 g

  • Pack size: 1 bottle 

  • Manufacturer: Vithayasrom (Thailand)

   

       

Uses

  • treatment of acute poisoning

Contraindications

  • poisoning by hydrocarbons with high potential for harm if aspirated; poisoning by corrosive substances (may prevent visualization of lesions caused by the poison). absence of bowel sounds, gastrointestinal perforation, intestinal obstruction, recent surgery, risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage

Precautions

  • drowsy or unconscious patients (risk of aspiration; intubate before administration via nasogastric or gastric tube); not effective for poisoning with alcohols, clofenotane (dicophane, DDT), cyanides, malathion, and metal salts including those of iron and lithium.

Pregnancy category: -

Dose

  • Poisoning (reduction of absorption), by mouth, as soon as possible after ingestion of poison, ADULT, 50 – 100 g as a single dose; CHILD 1 g/kg as a single dose

  • Poisoning (active elimination), by mouth, ADULT, 50 g then 25 - 50 g every 4 - 6 hours; CHILD, 1 g/kg then 0.5 g/kg every 4 – 6 hours.

Adverse effects

  • black stools; vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea; Pulmonary aspiration

Reference

  • Kearney TE. Charcoal, Activated. In: Olson KR, Anderson IB, Benowitz NL, Blanc PD, Clark RF, Kearney TE, et al., editors. Poisoning & Drug Overdose. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2018. p. 530-1.
  • Smith SW, Howland MA. Activated charcoal. In: Nelson LS, Howland MA, Lewin NA, Smith SW, Goldfrank LR, Hoffman RS, editors. Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2019. p. 76–82. 
  • Activated Charcoal. In: IBM Micromedex® DRUGDEX® (electronic version). IBM Watson Health, Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA. Available at: https://www.micromedexsolutions.com/ (cited: Mar/3/2022).