Controlled Study Comparing Ethacrynic Acid to Mercaptomerin in the Treatment of Acute Pulmonary Edema

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In a controlled study comparing the therapeutic effectiveness of intravenous ethacrynic acid to intramuscular mercaptomerin in patients with acute pulmonary edema, all 39 patients were treated by the usual methods except that 19 received ethacrynic acid and 20 mercaptomerin. Although ethacrynic acid induced a noticeably greater diuresis and natriuresis in the first three hours, differences in this respect were not significant at the end of six hours. The diuretic response to mercaptomerin was evenly distributed around a mean of 1239 ml per six hours, whereas the response to ethacrynic acid was biphasic, with six patients failing to respond (mean diuresis of 287 ml per six hours), and the remaining 13 voiding an average of 2506 ml per six hours. The rate of clinical improvement was independent of the rapidity of diuresis, thus casting doubt on the necessity for the use of the most rapidly acting diuretics in the treatment of acute pulmonary edema.