The list of drugs that can cause diarrhea is particularly large. According to the first study cited at the end of the article, in the year 2000, over 700 drugs on the market were implicated in the onset of diarrhea.
Among those most commonly responsible for this disorder, the study in question recalls:
- antibiotics, especially if broad spectrum: they involve a destruction of the normal microbial flora of the large intestine increasing the chances of enteric proliferation of pathogens responsible for diarrhea. This side effect can be at least partially prevented by combining the antimicrobial drug with a specific treatment with probiotics
- some weight loss drugs, such as acarbose, reduce the absorption of carbohydrates and dietary fats causing diarrhea
- laxatives
- antacids containing magnesium salts (to compensate for the laxative effect, magnesium hydroxide is often associated with aluminum hydroxide, as occurs in Maalox)
- products containing lactose as an excipient: in patients strongly tolerant to this sugar, even the ingestion of small amounts of lactose can cause diarrhea
- products containing polyols, such as sorbitol and mannitol: sugars with the known laxative effect
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- cimetidine
- prostaglandins
- colchicine
- antineoplastic
- antiarrhythmic drugs
- anticholinergic agents
- thiazide diuretics
Active Ingredients That Cause Diarrhea 2
- Cardiovascular active drugs
- Methyldopa, digoxin, quinidine, propranolol, hydralazine, ACE inhibitors, procainamide
- Gastrointestinal active drugs
- laxatives, lactulose, antacids (magnesium salts), H2 antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, cholestyramine, chenodeoxycholic acid, olsalazine, misoprostol, enprostil, cisapride
- Musculoskeletal active drugs
- colchicine, indomethacin, auranofin, naproxen, phenylbutazone, mefenamic acid
- Active drugs in the central nervous system
- anticholinergics, levodopa, alprazolam, lithium, fluoxetine, donepezil, tacrine
- Endocrine active drugs
- oral hypoglycemic agents, clofibrate, thyroxine
- various
- Antibiotics: clindamycin, amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalosporin, neomycin, erythromycin
- Antimetabolites: 5-fluorouracil, methotrexate
- Osmotic laxatives: antacids containing magnesium, lactulose, sorbitol, acarbose, propanolol
Bibliography:
- Drug-induced diarrhoea . Chassany O, Michaux A, Bergmann JF. Drug Saf. 2000 Jan; 22 (1): 53-72.
- Drug-Associated Diarrhoea and Constipation in Older People . Ranjit N Ratnaike, Austin G Milton, Olimpia Nigro
