CHICAGO — Parents should avoid the old standby poison remedy of
ipecac syrup and instead call
poison control centers when children ingest toxic
substances, the American Academy of Pediatrics says, reversing a
long-standing position.
For decades, doctors have recommended that parents keep a bottle
of ipecac on hand to induce vomiting when children ingest something
poisonous. The antidote, made from roots of the tropical ipecac
plant, induces vomiting.
Recommendations for using it have been based more on intuition
rather on than any hard evidence that home use is effective, said
Dr. Milton Tenenbein,
Earlier recommendations advised parents to call a doctor or
poison control center before using the syrup, but Tenenbein said
parents haven't always heeded that advice.
‘‘Unfortunately, the
presence of ipecac in the home often results in its
inappropriate use,'' says the new policy, which appears in
December's issue of Pediatrics, being published Monday.
Scientific advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
recommended in June that the agency end over-the-counter sales of
ipecac. An FDA decision is expected by early next year.
Tenenbein said poison control centers have been phasing out use
of ipecac for a number of reasons.
It sometimes causes
prolonged vomiting and lethargy similar to
drowsiness that might be caused by an overdose of sedative
pills. Those symptoms can complicate
diagnosis and treatment, Tenenbein said.
It also may not totally empty the stomach of
poison, or may linger and cause a child to vomit up other
antidotes, he said.
Another study in the same issue found that home use did not
reduce emergency room visits and did not improve outcomes. It is
based on an analysis of data from the American Association of
Poison Control Centers, which also is preparing new ipecac
guidelines.
Recommendations for using ipecac have been around since at least
the 1960s, Tenenbein said. An American Academy of Pediatrics
committee advised home use of ipecac in 1983.
