Loperamide

Loperamide (Imodium)

Category:

Miscellaneous

Description:

Antidiarrheal

Indications:

Diarrhea (acute non-specific)
Chronic diarrhea (inflammatory bowel disease)
Reduction of volume from ileostomy
Traveler’s diarrhea

Contraindications:

Acute diarrhea due to invasive organisms (enteroinvasive E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella) or pseudomembranous colitis

Precautions:

Pregnancy category B: unknown if excreted in breast milk; compatible with breast feeding
Liver disease, dehydration
Severe ulcerative colitis (toxic megacolon)
Children (greater variability in response)

Adverse Reactions (Side Effects):

CNS: fatigue, fever, dizziness, drowsiness
GI: abdominal pain, anorexia, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, toxic megacolon, vomiting
RESP: respiratory depression
SKIN: rash

Dosage:

Administered orally (capsule, liquid)

Adult: PO 4mg, then 2mg after each loose stool, max 16mg daily; maintenance for chronic diarrhea usually 4-8mg daily
Child: <2 years not recommended; 13-20 kg PO 2mg 2 times daily on day 1, then 0.1 mg/kg after each loose stool; >30 kg PO 2mg 3 times daily on day 1, then 0.1 mg/kg after each loose stool

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Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited.

The information contained here is an abbreviated summary. For more detailed and complete information, consult the manufacturer's product information sheets or standard textbooks.

Source: Operational Medicine 2001, Health Care in Military Settings, NAVMED P-5139, May 1, 2001, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, 2300 E Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20372-5300.

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Department of the Navy
2300 E Street NW
Washington, D.C
20372-5300

Operational Medicine
Health Care in Military Settings
CAPT Michael John Hughey, MC, USNR
NAVMED P-5139
January 1, 2001

United States Special Operations Command
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, Florida
33621-5323

*This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates, LLC. It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. The medical information presented was reviewed and felt to be accurate in 2001. Medical knowledge and practice methods may have changed since that time. Some links may no longer be active. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

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