[Clinical and instrumental evaluation by multiple colonic manometry of tiropramide, trimebutine and octylonium bromide in the irritable colon: I. Administration by single i.v].

Sixty out-patients with acute or sub-acute irritable colon were randomly allocated to receive a single intravenous dose of 50 mg tiropramide, 50 mg trimebutine maleate or 10 mg octilonium bromide. Before and after injection, multiple colonic manometry was performed, monitoring tonus, intensity and frequency of sinusoid contraction waves, transitories and vibrations, as well as the voluntary contraction capacity. Significant variations in tonus were not observed with any drug, but, while tiropramide left unmodified the voluntary contractile ability, a significant inhibition was observed with trimebutine and octilonium. The overall power of spontaneous colonic contractions did not vary significantly with tiropramide, whereas some decrease was observed with trimebutine, and a substantial one with octilonium. Moreover, while with tiropramide and, to a lesser extent, with trimebutine there was a significant redistribution of muscular power so as to increase phasic propulsion waves and to decrease the ineffective transitory and vibrational contractions, with octilonium only a decreased wave amplitude was recorded without alteration of the frequency of transient spasms. Based on these observations, tiropramide was evaluated as being at least as effective an antispasmodic as octilonium and at least as effective a synchronizer as trimebutine, while setting itself aside from both reference drugs as it was the only one to act contemporarily as both an antispasmodic and a synchronizer.