hyoscine butylbromide: prescribing and clinical use
Focused clinical detail for use alongside current product information, local policy and patient-specific assessment.
hyoscine butylbromide: clinical details
Prescribing considerations
- Investigate persistent, worsening or unexplained abdominal pain rather than continuing symptomatic treatment without a diagnosis.
- Use cautiously where tachycardia could be hazardous, including cardiac failure, arrhythmia, coronary disease, thyrotoxicosis and cardiac surgery.
- Use cautiously in patients susceptible to urinary or intestinal outlet obstruction, and in pyrexia because sweating may be reduced.
- Parenteral administration requires readiness to manage hypotension, tachycardia and anaphylaxis.
Contraindications and cautions
- Hypersensitivity to hyoscine butylbromide or formulation components
- Myasthenia gravis
- Mechanical gastrointestinal stenosis, paralytic or obstructive ileus, or megacolon
- Narrow-angle glaucoma
- For injection: tachycardia and prostatic hypertrophy with urinary retention
- For intramuscular injection: concurrent anticoagulant treatment
Monitoring
- Assess symptom response and investigate red-flag abdominal symptoms.
- Monitor for tachycardia, visual disturbance, urinary retention and reduced gastrointestinal motility.
- Monitor cardiovascular status in at-risk patients receiving injection.
- Observe after parenteral administration for hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis.
Clinical pharmacology
A quaternary ammonium antimuscarinic with ganglion-blocking activity in visceral smooth muscle. Oral absorption and systemic bioavailability are low, and blood–brain barrier penetration is limited.
Formulation and product differences
- Coated tablets are oral-only, should be swallowed whole and contain sucrose; check suitability in relevant hereditary sugar-intolerance disorders.
- Injections are clear, single-use solutions for intravenous or intramuscular administration by healthcare professionals and may be diluted with compatible glucose or sodium chloride solutions.
- Injection has additional contraindications and precautions, including tachycardia, urinary retention associated with prostatic hypertrophy, anticoagulation with the intramuscular route, hypotension and anaphylaxis.
- Injection is not recommended for children in the selected product information.
hyoscine butylbromide preparations and strengths
Tablet
Route: Oral
Strengths: 10 mg, 20 mg
Injection
Route: Parenteral
Strengths: 20 mg/mL
hyoscine butylbromide interactions
Check all prescribed, pharmacy and herbal products with a pharmacist or prescriber.
Other antimuscarinic medicines
Antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics, amantadine, quinidine, disopyramide, ipratropium and tiotropium can increase effects such as dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary retention and tachycardia.
Metoclopramide or domperidone
Their effects on gut movement oppose those of hyoscine butylbromide, potentially reducing the benefit of both medicines.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.