title: The effect of activated charcoal on drug exposure in healthy volunteers: a meta-analysis.
abstract: The objective of the study was to estimate the effect of activated charcoal (AC) administered during the first 6 h after drug intake and the effect of drug properties on drug exposure. Sixty-four controlled studies were integrated in a meta-analysis. AC administered 0-5 min after administration of a drug reduced median drug exposure by 88.4% (25-75 percentile: 65.0-96.8) (P < 0.00001). The effect of AC continued to be statistically significant when administered up to 4 h after drug intake (median reduction in drug exposure 27.4% (range 21.3-31.5%, P = 0.0006). The reduction in drug exposure was correlated with the AC/drug ratio (rho = 0.69, P < 0.0001), the volume of distribution (Vd) (rho = 0.46, P = 0.0001), and time to peak concentration (rho = 0.40, P = 0.02). We found that AC is most effective when given immediately after drug ingestion but has statistically significant effects even when given as long as 4 h after drug intake. AC appears to be most effective when given in a large dose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. gesche@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jürgens
authors.forename: L C Groth
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Hoegberg
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Graudal
mesh_terms: D000931:Antidotes / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D002606:Charcoal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D011041:Poisoning / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000931:Antidotes; D002606:Charcoal