New insights into the characterization of the mechanism of action of hyoscine butylbromide in the human colon ex vivo

INTRODUCTION

Hyoscine butylbromide (HBB) is one of the most used antispasmodics in clinical practice. Recent translational consensus has demonstrated a similarity between human colonic motor patterns studied ex vivo and in vivo, suggesting ex vivo can predict in vivo results. It is unclear whether the mechanism of action of antispasmodics can predict different use in clinical practice. The aim of the present study is to bridge this gap dissecting HBB's role in excitatory and inhibitory neural pathways.

METHODS

309 colon samples from 48 patients were studied in muscle bath experiments. HBB was tested on: 1-spontaneous phasic contractions (SPCs); 2-carbachol-induced contractility; electrical field stimulation (EFS)-induced selective stimulation of 3-excitatory and 4-inhibitory pathways and 5- SPCs and EFS-induced contractions enhanced by neostigmine. Atropine, AF-DX116 (M2 blocker) and DAU-5884 (M3 blocker) were used as comparators.

RESULTS

In the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), HBB and atropine 1 μM reduced SPCs. HBB and atropine concentration-dependently reduced carbachol- and EFS-induced contractions. Inhibitory effects of DAU-5884 on EFS-induced contractions were more potent than of AF-DX116. HBB did not affect the off-response associated to neural inhibitory responses. Neostigmine enhanced both SPCs and EFS-induced contractions. In the presence of TTX and ω-conotoxin (GVIA), neostigmine still enhanced SPCs. Addition of HBB and atropine reduced these responses.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that HBB inhibits neural cholinergic contractions associated to muscarinic (mainly M3) receptors. HBB has a potential role in reducing colonic spasm induced by the release of acetylcholine from enteric motor neurons and from an atypical source including a potential non-neuronal origin.

Ultrasonographic Assessment of Small Intestinal Motility Following Hyoscine Butylbromide Administration in Horses: A Pilot Study

Horses commonly receive hyoscine butylbromide (HB) prior to hospital admission for colic. This could alter the appearance of the small intestine (SI) on ultrasound scan and affect clinical decision making. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of HB on ultrasonographically assessed SI motility and heart rate. Six horses hospitalised for medical colic with no significant abnormalities on baseline abdominal ultrasound examination were included. Ultrasound was performed in three locations (right inguinal, left inguinal and hepatoduodenal window) before and at 1, 5, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after intravenous injection of 0.3 mg/kg HB. Three blinded reviewers assessed SI motility using a subjective grading scale from 1 to 4, one being normal motility and four being no motility. Moderate interindividual and interobserver variability was observed, but none of the included horses developed dilated turgid loops of SI. Hyoscine butylbromide did not significantly reduce SI motility grade in any location (P = .60 left inguinal, P = .16 right inguinal, P = .09 duodenum). Heart rate (mean ± SD) was 33 ± 3 prior to HB injection and peaked at 71.3 ± 9 one-minute postinjection. Heart rate was significantly increased until 45 minutes (48 ± 9) after HB administration (P = .04). The appearance of dilated turgid SI loops common with strangulating intestinal lesions did not appear to develop following HB administration. Hyoscine butylbromide administered shortly before abdominal ultrasound examination would not be expected to affect clinical decision making in horses without small intestinal disease.

The effect of butylscopolamine on [18F]FDG uptake in the gastrointestinal tract is negligible and regionally variable

BACKGROUND

Butylscopolamine (or hyoscine butylbromide, trade name Buscopan^®) is occasionally administered as a premedication to reduce non-specific FDG uptake in the gastrointestinal tract based on its antiperistaltic effect. To date, there are no consistent recommendations for its use. The aim of this study was to quantify the reduction in intestinal and non-intestinal uptake by butylscopolamine administration and to derive relevance for clinical evaluation.

RESULTS

458 patients (PET/CT for lung cancer) were retrospectively reviewed. 218 patients with butylscopolamine and 240 patients without butylscopolamine had comparable characteristics. While the SUV_mean in the gullet/stomach and small intestine was significantly reduced with butylscopolamine, the colon and rectum/anus showed no difference. The liver and salivary glands showed a reduced SUV_mean, while skeletal muscle and blood pool were unaffected. An effect of butylscopolamine was particularly evident in men and patients under 65 years of age. There was no difference in the perceived confidence in the assessment of intestinal findings in the subjective evaluation, although in the butylscopolamine group further diagnostics appeared advisable more frequently.

CONCLUSIONS

Butylscopolamine reduces gastrointestinal FDG accumulation only in selected segments and, despite a significant effect, only to a small extent. A general recommendation for the use of butylscopolamine cannot be derived from these results, its use for specific issues could be considered individually.

Cardiovascular effects of hyoscine butylbromide in patients under general anaesthesia

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular effects for drugs such as hyoscine butylbromide are poorly documented in the literature, unlike atropine, which is considered the antimuscarinic of choice in the presence of intraoperative bradycardia.

AIM

The aim of the study was to describe the dose-related cardiovascular effect of hyoscine butylbromide in patients between 18 and 65 years of age, with low perioperative risk undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia on an outpatient basis or hospitalised at our institution between 1 January and 31 May 2019.

METHODS

Descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study; 28 patients with low perioperative risk who underwent general anaesthesia were selected. Changes in heart rate and blood pressure were analysed during the first 6 minutes after the administration of hyoscine butylbromide. The data obtained was recorded in a Microsoft Excel database and analysed using the Excel analysis tool and IBM SPSS.

RESULTS

The average dose of 0.15mg/kg of hyoscine butylbromide achieved an increase in heart rate and mean arterial pressure in 96% and 92.8%, respectively, in the first 6 minutes after the administration. Significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure were obtained during the first 6 minutes at doses between 0.05mg/kg and 0.15mg/kg.

CONCLUSION

Hyoscine butylbromide generates positive effects on the heart rate and blood pressure of patients under general anaesthesia, representing a possible alternative in the management of intraoperative bradycardia.

Hyoscine butylbromide in pain reduction associated with ultrasound-guided manual vacuum aspiration: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the effect of adding an anti-spasmodic drug to an existing ultrasound-guided manual vacuum aspiration (USG-MVA) protocol to alleviate immediate post-procedure abdominal cramping pain in women treated for early pregnancy loss?

DESIGN

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial conducted between February 2018 and January 2020. Participants were assigned to receive a 1-ml intravenous injection containing 20-mg hyoscine butylbromide (HBB) (n=55) or saline (n =56) as a control immediately before USG-MVA. Primary outcome was reduced abdominal pain after adding a 20-mg dose of HBB to the current pain control regimen. Secondary outcomes were vaginal pain, complications and side-effects, women's pre- and post-procedure psychological state, physiological stress (saliva alpha-amylase) and procedure pain control satisfaction. Two-way mixed ANOVA was used to evaluate the main effects and interactions.

RESULTS

VAS abdominal pain scores in the HBB group were 16% lower immediately after and 21% lower 2 h after surgery (not statistically significant). Two-way ANOVA indicated that time (F[₁₁₀₈] = 83.41, P < 0.001) was the only significant main effect for reduced abdominal pain after the procedure and vaginal pain score (F[1108] = 180.1, P < 0.0001) but not drug received. No adverse events were reported. No significant difference was found for psychological state, physiological stress and procedure pain control satisfaction between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-spasmodic drugs can help to reduce abdominal cramping pain associated with USG-MVA; HBB produced an insignificant decrease in abdominal pain score. Further studies with longer acting or larger doses of anti-spasmodic drugs are warranted.

A randomized controlled study of the effect of hyoscine butylbromide on duration of labor in primigravida women with prolonged labor

OBJECTIVE

To assess the safety and efficacy of hyoscine butyl bromide (HBB) in primipara with prolonged 1st stage of labor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A double-blinded randomized controlled trial included 100 primiparas diagnosed with prolonged labor. They were randomly divided two equal groups. Group I received 40 mg HBB intravenously. Group II received 2 ml of normal saline. The primary outcome was the duration of the 1st stage of labor. Secondary outcomes included success of vaginal delivery, rate of cervical dilation, duration of 2nd and 3rd stages of labor, causes of CS, neonatal outcome and drug side effects.

RESULTS

The duration of the 1st stage was 322.3 ± 89.8 min in women who received HBB compared with 451.3 ± 198.3 min in the control women (P < 0.001). The rate of cervical dilation was increased from 0.4 ± 0.2 to 1.5 ± 0.6 in women who received HBB compared with its increase from 0.4 ± 0.1 to 0.9 ± 0.2 in other women (P < 0.001). The rate of CS were significantly higher in control women when compared to those received HBB (34 vs. 20%, P < 0.001). The commonest indication for the operation was arrest of cervical dilatation (28 and 16%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

HBB is associated with shortening of the 1st stage, lowered rate of CS without any side effects.

CLINICAL TRIAL

GOV ID

NCT03430362 date of registration 6 February 2018. Synopsis Hyoscine butyl bromide is associated with shortening of the 1st stage, lowered rate of CS in primiparas with prolonged labor.

The effect of hyoscine-N-butylbromide on pain perception during and after hysterosalpingography in infertile women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

This paper reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of hyoscine-N-butylbromide (HBB) administration in hysterosalpingography (HSG). Four electronic databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared HBB versus placebo or no intervention in infertile women undergoing HSG. Pain during and after HSG and different adverse events including nausea, vomiting, and dizziness were evaluated. Three RCTs with 335 patients were included. The analysis showed HBB was significantly effective in reducing pain during and after HSG (MD = -0.76 mm, 95% CI [-1.35, -0.17], p = 0.01) and (MD = -0.81 mm, 95% CI [-1.07, -0.56], p < 0.001), respectively. There were no significant differences in adverse events between HBB and control groups. The methodological evidence quality was high as evaluated by GRADEpro. In conclusion, this review provides good evidence that prior administration of HBB is effective in reducing induced pain during and after HSG with tolerable side effects.

Immediate dilation of a tight or stenotic cervix by intra-procedural administration of hyoscine butylbromide: A clinical trial

Background

Cervical dilation is indicated prior to performing various gynecological procedures. However, gynecologists are at times confronted with a stenotic or tight cervix, resistant to dilation. This can be problematic particularly when cervical ripening has not been attempted hours before the start of the procedure.

Objective

The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy of administration of hyoscine butylbromide for cervical dilation for immediate dilation of the tight or stenotic cervix.

Materials and Methods

In this clinical trial study, a population of 40 women, aged 20-70 yr with stenotic cervix, evidenced by resistance to pass dilator #2 through their cervical canal were compared. Cervical patency was assessed 10 min following intra-cervical canal instillation of hyoscine butylbromide.

Results

Cervical width of 57.5% of patients became wider, as evidenced by passage of the number 4 Hegar dilator through the cervical canal without resistance. Independent T-tests did not reveal any statistically significant difference between the two groups based on their age. Fisher Exact test revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups based on the prior route of delivery, with a more statistically significant response in patients who had vaginal deliveries.

Conclusion

Intra-cervical canal instillation of hyoscine butylbromide is effective in immediate dilation of the tight or stenotic cervix during intra-uterine procedures.

Outcome prognostic factors in inoperable malignant bowel obstruction

PURPOSE

Inoperable malignant bowel obstruction (MBO), a severe complication of peritoneal carcinomatosis, has a low desobstruction rate (30-40 %) and end-of-life decision-making is hampered by the lack of known prognostic factors. This study aimed to explore prognostic factors for desobstruction in MBO.

METHODS

All patients with inoperable MBO admitted in our large oncology hospital between 2010 and 2013 were treated following a clinical protocol based on antiemetics, steroids and two antisecretories, octreotide, and hyoscine butylbromide. Two prognostic factor analyses using logistic regressions were performed, one based on data from day 1 of admission and the other on data from day 8.

RESULTS

Forty-five patients were included. Frequency of desobstruction was 48.9 %. In the analysis of prognostic factors on day 1, MBO episodes derived from functional physiopathologic mechanisms (vs. mechanic or mixed) were more prone to resolve (p < 0.001 corrected for multiple comparisons). Considering patients alive with persistent obstruction on day 8, a better clinical condition was the variable more associated with desobstruction, but without statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons.

CONCLUSIONS

A functional physiopathologic mechanism of MBO development may be an early prognostic factor for desobstruction. A high proportion of desobstruction was observed, suggesting that the combination of antisecretories with different mechanism of action warrants further investigation.

Does hyoscine butylbromide really improve polyp detection during colonoscopy? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

AIM: To investigate the benefits of hyoscine butylbromide in polyp detection during colonoscopy by a meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

METHODS: Databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and the Science Citation Index up to September 2013, were searched. The primary outcome was polyp detection rate, and the secondary outcome was adenoma detection rate. The meta-analysis was performed using the free software Review Manager. Differences observed between the treated and the control groups were expressed as odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A fixed-effects model was used to pool data when statistical heterogeneity was absent. If statistical heterogeneity was present (P < 0.05), a random-effects model was used.

RESULTS: The initial search identified nine articles. After screening, five RCTs with a total of 1998 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Of the five studies, all described a comparison of baseline patient characteristics and showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Among the 1998 patients, 1006 received hyoscine butylbromide and 992 were allocated to the control group, and the polyp detection rate was reported. There were no significant differences between the treated and the control group (OR = 1.09, 95%CI: 0.91-1.31, P = 0.33). Four RCTs included 1882 patients, of whom 948 received hyoscine butylbromide, and the adenoma detection rate was reported. There were no significant differences between the treated and the control group (OR = 1.13, 95%CI: 0.92-1.38, P = 0.24).

CONCLUSION: The use of hyoscine butylbromide did not significantly improve the polyp detection rate during colonoscopy.

Acute Toxicity Investigation and Anti-diarrhoeal Effect of the Chloroform-Methanol Extract of the Leaves of Persea americana

Persea americana is a plant used by traditional medicine practitioners to treat ailments including diarrhoea and diabetes mellitus in Nigeria. Hence, the chloroform and the methanol fractions of the chloroform-methanol extract of the leaves of P. americana were evaluated for their acute toxicity as well as anti-diarrhoeal effects in Wistar rats to substantiate this claim. The chloroform and methanol fractions [at graded doses of 100 and 200 mg/Kg body weight (b.w) of each] were studied for their anti-diarrhoeal effects in terms of the reductions in the wetness of faeces and the frequency of defaecation of castor oil-induced diarrhoea. To understand the mechanism of their anti-diarrhoeal effects, their actions were further evaluated on castor oil-induced enteropooling (intestinal fluid accumulation). The median lethal dose (LD50) of the methanol fraction was found to be less than 5000 mg/Kg b.w. At the two doses, the chloroform and the methanol fractions showed dose-dependent significant (p < 0.05) reductions in the wetness of faeces and the frequency of defaecation with the 200 mg/Kg b.w of the chloroform fraction being the most effective. Results of the fractions were comparable with those of the standard anti-diarrhoeal drug, hyoscine butylbromide (3 mg/Kg b.w). Both fractions produced remarkable (p < 0.05) dose-related inhibition of castor oil-induced enteropooling as shown by the significant (p < 0.05) decreases in the weight and volume of the intestinal contents. Experimental findings show that the chloroform-methanol extract of the leaves of P. americana possesses significant anti-diarrhoeal effect and may be a potent source of anti-diarrhoeal drug(s) in future.

Effect of hyoscine butylbromide first stage of labour in multiparus women

BACKGROUND

Prolonged labor is one of the most important risk factors for perinatal compromise and, if caused by obstructed labor, it carries the risk of uterine rupture, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), puerperal sepsis, and maternal death.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether or not hyoscine butylbromide shortens the stages of labor, without an increase in maternal or neonatal complications.

METHOD

In single-blinded randomized clinical trial study, 188 multiparas women in active phase of labor who were admitted to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital from October 2006 to April 2007 in Yazd - Iran, were evaluated. They were divided hyoscine group (n = 94) received 20mg (1ml) of hyoscine and control group (n = 94) received 1 ml of normal saline was given as placebo, intravenously. The effects of hyoscine in shortening labor time; and neonatal Apgar score was compared.

RESULTS

Duration of the first (mean± SD: 186.8 ± 125.6 minutes vs. 260.4 ± 120.9 minutes, p= 0.00 1) and second stage of labor (mean± SD: 20.0 ± 8.1minutes vs. 25.8 ± 9.4 minutes, p= 0.03) was shorter in hyoscine group. Frequency of cesarean section and mean of neonatal Apgar score at minutes of one and 5 were not different in both groups. No serious adverse events were seen in the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Injection of hyoscine in active phase of labor can be effective in shortening of labor without any adverse effect on mother and fetus.

Unexpected anterograde amnesia associated with Buscopan used as a predmedication for endocscopy

It has been known that peripheral adverse event is caused by peripheral antimuscarinic action, from hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan; Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany) used as a premedication for endoscopy. However, symptoms or signs associated with the central nervous system are rarely reported in the field of anesthesiology and peripartum labor. This central anticholinergic syndrome is likely caused by blockade of muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the central nervous system. There is no report on Buscopan-induced central anticholinergic syndrome in endoscopy room so far. Three middle-aged females unexpectedly suffered from anterograde amnesia after intramuscular injection of hyoscine butylbromide as an antispasmodic premedication for endoscopy at our endoscopy unit in the Health Promotion Center.