Inexpensive Drug Relieves Potentially Fatal Swelling of the Colon, Study Finds

An inexpensive and widely available drug called neostigmine is so effective at relieving a potentially fatal swelling of the colon that a study of its benefits is being released seven weeks early. The study, slated for publication in the July 15 New England Journal of Medicine, involves a condition called acute colonic pseudo-obstruction, or Ogilvie’s disease, a massive dilation of the colon without any physical obstruction.

Primarily occurring in patients hospitalized for surgery or serious illness, the swelling perforates the bowel 3% of the time--a complication that kills half of its victims. Researchers from the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle gave 21 patients who hadn’t responded to traditional therapy an infusion of neostigmine or a placebo. In 10 of the 11 patients who received the drug, the colon shrank to normal size and bowel function was restored in an average of four minutes. None of the placebo-treated patients improved.