GI cocktail

A gastrointestinal cocktail, known as a GI cocktail, is a generic term for a mixture of liquid antacid, viscous lidocaine, and an anticholinergic primarily used to treat dyspepsia.[1] The GI cocktail may also deceptively mask pain originating from the heart.[2]

There is a wide variety of GI cocktail recipes in use today. A very popular one is a mixture of Maalox, viscous lidocaine, and Donnatal, in equal parts.[3] A mixture of 10-30 ml Mylanta, 10 ml Donnatal and 10 ml viscous lidocaine is known as "The Green Goddess," or "Green Lizard."[4] The efficacy of this mixture for the treatment of dyspepsia is generally considered superior to treatment with only any one of its components, due to their varied mechanisms of relief; however, a recent study found that a GI cocktail was no more effective in relieving stomach pain than an antacid alone. The treatment may also provide relief for hiatal hernia patients suffering acute symptoms. [5]

References

  1. ↑ Paul Dickson (2004). War slang: American fighting words and phrases since the Civil War. Brassey's. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-57488-710-5. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Anh Vu T. Nguyen; Dung A. Nguyen (2005). Learning from medical errors: clinical problems. Radcliffe Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-85775-768-2. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Richard J. Hamilton; Tarascon (2009). Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia 2010 Classic Shirt-Pocket Edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7637-7439-4. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Steven E. Diaz (15 January 2002). Blackwell's primary care essentials: Emergency medicine. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-86542-579-8. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  5. ↑ Berman DA, Porter RS, Graber M (2003). "The GI Cocktail is no more effective than plain liquid antacid: a randomized, double blind clinical trial". J Emerg Med 25 (3): 239–44. doi:10.1016/S0736-4679(03)00196-3. PMID 14585449.