Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0740577 (acute abdominal pain)
 1,982 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A case report of subacute, reversible ischemic colitis associated with use of oral contraceptives (OCs) is reported. A 19-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with chief complaints of abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding of 2 days' duration. Past medical history and family history were noncontributory. The patient was receiving no medication other than Norinyl 2 (2 mg of norethindrone and .1 mg of mestranol), which she had been taking for 6 months. 2 days before admission the patient had taken 100 mg of dimenhydrinate and 2 ExLax tablets (90 mg of phenolphthalein) for constipation. Colonic roentgenograms revealed impaired mesenteric circulation and bowel ischemia; OC-induced ischemic bowel disease was diagnosed. Patient symptoms subsided within 96 hours of discontinuing the OC and initiating supportive therapy (including intravenous fluid infusion, nasogastric suction, analgesics, and antiemetics). When a repeat barium enema was performed, it showed resolution of the ischemia. In a short review following the case report, these drugs were indicted in causation of colitis-like syndrome: amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephazolin, chloramphenicol, chlorpropamide, clindamycin, cloxacillin, cotrimoxasole, cyclophosphamide, digitalis, ergotamine tartrate, flucytosine, fluorouracil, gold salts, laxative and cathartic abuse, mercurous chloride, methyldopa, penicillin V, and tetracycline. Ischemic bowel disease secondary to OC use is a rare but important complication because of its significant morbidity and potential mortality, and because of the widespread use of the drugs. The case report emphasizes the need to consider the differential diagnosis of acute vascular insult with bowel ischemia when acute abdominal pain progressing to bloody diarrhea occurs in young women taking OCs.
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PMID:Oral contraceptive-induced ischemic bowel disease. 48 72

Since oral contraceptives (OCs) are the method chosen by an estimated 10 million US women, health care providers must be informed about the pill's mechanism of action, its warning signs and contraindications, and its interaction with other drugs and vitamins. Although nearly 60 OC brands are currently available, there are only 2 basic types: the mini-pill, which contains progesterone only, and the combination OC, which adds estrogen. Combination OCs are further divided into monophasic, biphasic, and triphasic preparations. OC use is contraindicated in women with a history of phlebitis, stroke, coronary artery disease, liver tumors, or breast cancer. Warning signs that patients should be instructed to report include acute abdominal pain, chest pain, headaches, and severe leg pain. The effectiveness of OCs is decreased by drugs such as ampicillin, penicillin V, tetracycline, rifampin, barbiturates, and some antiepileptics. On the other hand, OCs decrease the effects of insulin and oral hypoglycemics, oral anticoagulants, and guanethidine. In addition, OCs can increase the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies, primarily of folic acid and vitamins C, B2, B6, and B12.
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PMID:The pill, the patient, and you. 338 42