Intravenously Given Ethacrynic Acid and Gastrointestinal Bleeding

An association (P< 0.0001) between the administration of ethacrynic acid and the occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding was observed during routine computer monitoring of data obtained in a drug-surveillance program. This prompted a detailed analysis wherein diagnosis, age, sex, blood urea nitrogen levels, the presence or absence of heparin sodium therapy, and the severity of illness were controlled. Even after these adjustments, the frequency of gastrointestinal bleeding among patients receiving ethacrynic acid was higher than in those patients who received furosemide, meralluride sodium and/or hydrochlorothiazide and/or chlorothiazide orally, or in those who received none of these diuretics (P< 0.02). The difference noted with ethacrynic acid was confined to the subgroup of patients who received the drug intravenously.