Antispasmodics can be divided into two main classifications:
- Anti-muscarinics (reduce intestinal motility, has opposite activity to ‘rest and digest’)
- Smooth muscle relaxants (direct relaxants of intestinal smooth muscles)
Cuases
- Irritable Bowel Disease
- Inflammatory Bowel Disorder
- Bowel Colic in palliative care
Atmuscarincs
- Tertiary amines: atropine sulfate and dicycloverine hydrochloride
- Quaternary ammonium (less well absorbed from GI tract: propantheline bromide and hyoscine butylbromide.
- Quaternary ammonium are less lipid soluble, therefore less likely to cross the blood brain barrier meaning they are at a lower risk for central nervous system side-effects. They are also less well absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract