Saline catharsis: effect on aspirin bioavailability in combination with activated charcoal

The effect of a saline cathartic combined with activated charcoal or activated charcoal alone on aspirin bioavailability was characterized in six healthy volunteers. Using a random, Latin-square design, subjects were given 975 mg aspirin followed by either water alone, 15 Gm activated charcoal (AC), or 15 Gm activated charcoal plus 20 Gm sodium sulfate (AC + SS) separated by one week. Both AC (44.16 +/- 16.85 microgram/ml) and AC + SS (58.61 +/- 10.63 microgram/ml) decreased (P less than 0.001) the maximal plasma salicylate concentration (Cpmax) compared to control (86.61 +/- 12.69 microgram/ml). Urinary salicylate recovery was decreased (P less than 0.01) for AC (57.88 +/- 16.26 per cent) and AC + SS (61.00 +/- 11.49 per cent) as compared to control (93.73 +/- 6.83 per cent), while for area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) only AC showed a decrease (P less than 0.01) compared to control. Neither AC nor AC + SS differed from each other for Cpmax, AUC, or cumulative urinary recovery. Our findings indicate that the addition of sodium sulfate to activated charcoal has no added effect on limiting aspirin adsorption relative to activated charcoal alone.