Question

Reason for the combination of Diphenoxylate (2.5 mg) + Atropine (0.025 mg) is to

• A. Inhibits the side effects of Diphenoxylate
• B. Discourage abuse of Diphenoxylate
• C. Augment the anti‐motility action of Diphenoxylate
• D. Suppress gastroenteritis‐related vomiting

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The combination of Diphenoxylate and Atropine is often used in pharmaceutical chemistry to treat diarrhea. The specific reason for combining Diphenoxylate (2.5 mg) with Atropine (0.025 mg) is to discourage abuse of Diphenoxylate. Here is a detailed explanation of why this combination is used and why the correct answer is chosen:

1. Understanding Diphenoxylate:
   • Diphenoxylate is an opioid agonist primarily used to slow down gut movement and treat diarrhea. Due to its opioid nature, there is a potential for misuse or abuse.
2. Role of Atropine:
   • Atropine is included in the formulation in a subtherapeutic dose. While it does not significantly contribute to the antidiarrheal effect, it serves an important purpose.
3. Reason for Combination:
   • The main aim of adding Atropine is to discourage the abuse of Diphenoxylate. Atropine causes undesirable side effects like dry mouth and blurred vision when taken in large quantities, which deters abusers from consuming large amounts of the medication to achieve a high from the opioid.
4. Ruling Out Other Options:
   • Inhibits the side effects of Diphenoxylate: Atropine does not inhibit side effects; instead, it adds its own side effects as a deterrent.
   • Augment the anti‐motility action of Diphenoxylate: While both drugs can affect gut motility, Atropine's main role in this combination is not to enhance Diphenoxylate's action but to discourage misuse.
   • Suppress gastroenteritis‐related vomiting: Atropine is not primarily used for this purpose in the combination with Diphenoxylate.

Thus, the correct choice for the reason behind the combination of Diphenoxylate and Atropine is to discourage abuse of Diphenoxylate.