Peds: How much laxative is too much?

[jenac]

Ok- my 12 yr. old is having a f/u IVP tommorrow morning following kidney surgery in January. As prep for the IVP- he was suppose to be giving a lax- 10oz. of Mag Citrate, 4 Doucosate tabs (20mg), and a suppository (10mg) . Even on the best of days- wow, that's alot. In his case- he's had frequent loose stools this week- so it's counter-indicated anyway (and therefor held in leu of clear liquids x 24 hrs. pre-test)

My question for all you Peds nurses- is this too much for a child?

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

That coincides with an adult dose we would give, but we consider anyone over 100lb an adult, so that could include a 12 year old. They want the bowels completely clean, so although it's uncomfortable it cuts down on the chance of infection post op. If there is nothing else in there to come out you could call your doc and see if you can stop, but if he's still stooling I'll bet they will want to continue.

[suzanne4, RN]

If they gave that much to me AND made me take it, I would definitely be screaming and want to kill some one. You could use one bottle of Fleet's Phospho Soda and get the same results. That is what we used to give all of our patients for colonoscopies. $ tablets of dulcolax is just too much for anyone. Years ago, had a resident that used to always order the four for a patient. We finally talked him into trying it..................last time he ever ordered it.

:uhoh21:

[kids]

That coincides with an adult dose we would give, but we consider anyone over 100lb an adult, so that could include a 12 year old. They want the bowels completely clean, so although it's uncomfortable it cuts down on the chance of infection post op. If there is nothing else in there to come out you could call your doc and see if you can stop, but if he's still stooling I'll bet they will want to continue.

I completely agree with canoe.

I am guessing their routine prep is the alternitive to colyte.

Do call the doc to discuss weather or not he needs the full bowel prep as ordered (since he has been having loose stools) but I am pretty sure they are going to want his GI tract empty so as not to create displacement of his GU tract (or obscure the view).

Dulcolax tabs can cause some major cramping. I find that pushing (and I mean lots) of clear fluids starting when the dose is taken really cuts down on the cramps.

[BabyRN2Be]

When I first read the title, I thought someone has a bizarre hobby. :rotfl:

Really, I hope that everything is OK. I just thought the title was too funny to pass up.