Thursday, January 11, 2007

Propylene glycol toxicity due to high dose lorazepam infusions

Propylene glycol is a diluent for parenteral preparations of lorazepam and other drugs. Toxicity may occur with high or escalating intravenous doses of lorazepam and may be manifested by wide anion gap metabolic acidosis, renal failure and increasing osmolar gap. A brief review in ISMP Medication Safety Alert contains recommendations for minimizing the risk of toxicity, including daily chemistries and calculation of the osmolar gap in patients receiving high doses. An osmolar gap exceeding 20 may herald impending toxicity.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw the same type of lactic acidosis with high dose IV valium drip

Anonymous said...

There are too many people who think that propylene glycol is safe! Its not! If it causes all these problems in patients, it should be watched more closely and researched more thoroughly!

Anonymous said...

It should not be watched more closely... It should be banned for all and any use of human consumption ! Hello? ! It stops hemoglobin from carrying oxygen... Hello ! Oxygen is restricted from flowing within our bodies when we consume it.

I just noticed that flaked coconut has Propylene Glycol... Any questions?

It should be manditory for all FDA Officers to pledge either their own time, or a family member to volunteer as a tester or student of the white wigs of the
A G.

Anonymous said...

It should not be watched more closely... It should be banned for all and any use of human consumption ! Hello? ! It stops hemoglobin from carrying oxygen... Hello ! Oxygen is restricted from flowing within our bodies when we consume it.

I just noticed that flaked coconut has Propylene Glycol... Any questions?

Anonymous said...

I now have SEVERE redness in my arm pits because I was not paying attention in the health food store when I was on vacation in Mass. I picked up Tom's of Maine -- what I considered to be a trusted brand in the Whole Foods industry. Well I was wrong, all their roll ons and sticks have Propylene Glycol. Needless to say I am giving my underarms a rest these days.