dicycloverine hydrochloride: clinical use

Prescribing considerations

• Confirm symptoms are consistent with functional gastrointestinal spasm and reassess persistent or changing symptoms.
• Review susceptibility to blurred vision, constipation, urinary difficulty, dizziness and sedation.
• Do not use the oral solution in infants younger than 6 months.

Contraindications and cautions

• Hypersensitivity or known idiosyncrasy to dicycloverine or product excipients
• Oral solution: infants younger than 6 months
• Lactose-containing tablet: relevant rare hereditary disorders of galactose metabolism or absorption
• Invert-sugar-containing oral solution: hereditary fructose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption or sucrase-isomaltase insufficiency

Monitoring

• Assess symptom response and continued need.
• Monitor for antimuscarinic effects, particularly visual symptoms and urinary difficulty.
• Consider sugar exposure to teeth with prolonged oral-solution use.

Clinical pharmacology

Antimuscarinic activity at acetylcholine receptors and direct musculotropic action relieve gastrointestinal smooth-muscle spasm. Elimination is principally urinary.

Formulation and product differences

• Tablets contain lactose and are swallowed with water.
• The strawberry-flavoured oral solution contains invert sugar, sodium benzoate and propylene glycol.
• The oral solution may be diluted with syrup or water immediately before administration.

Oral solution

Route: Oral

Strengths: 10 mg/5 mL

Tablet

Route: Oral

Strengths: 10 mg, 20 mg