American College of Medical Toxicology and The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology
View all recommendations from this societyReleased March 26, 2015
Don’t recommend “detoxification” through colon cleansing or promoting sweating for disease treatment or prevention.
No objective scientific evidence supports a role for colonic irrigation for “detoxification.” No US FDA-approved colonic hydrotherapy systems exist for nonmedical purposes like colon cleansing. Colonic cleansing through hydrotherapy, laxatives or cathartics may result in cramping, pain, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, infections and bowel perforation. Promoting sweating doesn’t produce clinically relevant toxin elimination. Methods to promote sweating may cause heat stroke, dehydration, burns, myocardial injury, carbon monoxide poisoning and liver or kidney damage, which might compromise toxin elimination.
These items are provided solely for informational purposes and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a medical professional. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their physician.
How The List Was Created
The American College of Medical Toxicology’s (ACMT’s) Board of Directors established a Choosing Wisely® work group in 2013 to develop a list of items for the Choosing Wisely® campaign. Members of the work group were chosen to represent various practice settings within the field of medical toxicology, including ambulatory, acute and population-based practice. Work group members included the President of the College, the Chair of the Practice Committee, the Chair of the Positions and Guidelines committee and other academic leaders within the medical toxicology community. All work group members also represented the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT). The first list was released by the work group in 2013 and in 2014, the work group reconvened to develop a second list of items for the campaign. A second preliminary list was disseminated to all members of ACMT and AACT for review, commentary and potential additions. Additional feedback was solicited from leaders within the field of medical toxicology. The work group reviewed all responses, and narrowed the list to the final five items based on a review of scientific evidence, relevance to the specialty and greatest opportunity to improve care, reduce cost and reduce harm to patients.The final list was approved by the ACMT Board of Directors and the AACT Board of Trustees.
The ACMT and AACT disclosure and conflict of interest policies and be found at www.acmt.net and www.clintox.org respectively.
Sources
Colon cleansing. Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2009 May 18;51(1312):39-40.
Acosta RD, Cash BD. Clinical effects of colonic cleansing for general health promotion: a systematic review. Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Nov;104(11):2830-6.
Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Death in sauna. J Forensic Sci. 2008 May;53(3):724-9.
Mishori R, Otubu A, Jones AA. The dangers of colon cleansing. J Fam Pract. 2011 Aug;60(8):454-7.
Rodhe A, Eriksson A. Sauna deaths in Sweden, 1992-2003. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2008 Mar;29(1):27-31.
