A New Effective Diuretic--Lasix

Abstract

A new potent and safe diuretic, 4-chloro-N-(2-furyl-methyl)-5-sulamoyl anthranilic acid, known in the United Kingdom as Lasix and elsewhere as Fursemide, has proved more effective than comparable standard doses of other diuretic agents, including hydrochlorothiazide. Higher ranges of dosage increase the diuretic response; up to 300 mg was successfully used in cases of resistant edema when mercurial diuretics and thiazides have failed. The usual effective oral dosage is much lower and should be adjusted to the individual response. Potassium excretion is less during Lasix therapy than with thiazides in low and comparable dosage, but massive diuresis requires K[plus or minus] supplementation, particularly in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. Prompt diuresis by intravenous Lasix is of particular value in cases of acute pulmonary edema. Parenteral therapy is also useful in the unconscious patient. Experience over a period of 20 months with 80 patients, mostly in congestive heart failure, including four with ascites and edema due to hepatic cirrhosis, warrants the opion that this new diuretic is of great value.