Bowel preparation component
Citric acid
Adult dose
Dose: Per formulation (e.g. Citrafleet, Picolax — see specific product)
Route: PO
Frequency: per regimen
Clinical pearls
- Component of stimulant + osmotic bowel-prep regimens
Contraindications
- Severe heart failure
- Severe dehydration
- Bowel obstruction
- Severe renal impairment
Side effects
- Electrolyte disturbance
- Dehydration
- Abdominal pain
Interactions
- Lithium toxicity
- Tetracyclines/quinolones (chelation)
Reference: BNF; https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/citric-acid/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
Calculators
- Harvey-Bradshaw Index for Crohn's Disease · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Mayo Score for Ulcerative Colitis Activity · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Rome IV Criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome · Functional GI
- Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Truelove and Witts Severity Index for Ulcerative Colitis · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Pathways
- Lower Gastrointestinal Bleed · BSG 2019; NICE NG141
- Variceal Upper GI Bleed · BSG 2015; Baveno VII (2022)
- Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) · BSG / EASL 2018
- Hepatorenal Syndrome · EASL 2018; ICA 2015
- Hepatic Encephalopathy · EASL 2014; West Haven criteria
- Clostridioides difficile Colitis · NICE NG199 (2021); IDSA/SHEA 2021