The dissolution of cholesterol stones in patients:
For this indication, competent medicine agencies globally authorize below treatments:
Oral
8 - 10 mg per kg of body weight
From 2.667 To 3.333 mg per kg of body weight 3 time(s) per day every day
Usual dosage: 8 to 10 mg/kg/day. The daily dose can be administered two or three times after the meals: it should always be taken after the evening meal.
Also a single evening dose can be selected (e.g. a patient of 60 kg, in the evening two tablets of 300 mg). Preferably, this single dose should be taken one hour before bedtime and ± two hours after the evening meal with a glass of milk or a small snack.
The duration of the treatment in order to obtain lysis of the gallstones depends on their size, but is usually not shorter than three to four months. To assess the result of the therapy properly, it is necessary to determine the size of the stones accurately at the start of the treatment and to check this further regularly, for example every six months, by means of a new contrast X-ray recording and/or sonographic recording.
In patients in whom, after six months of treatment with the indicated dosage, the stones are not reduced in size, it is recommended to determine the lithogenic index in the bile by means of a duodenum drainage. When the bile has an index of >1.0, it is unlikely that a favourable result can be obtained, and it is better to consider a different form of treatment for the gallstones.
Treatment should be continued for three to four months after it is established by means of ultrasound check that the gallstones are completely dissolved. An interruption of the treatment for three to four weeks results in a return to over-saturation of the bile and prolongs the overall duration of the therapy. The interruption of the treatment after the dissolving of the gallstones can be followed by a recurrence.
It should be taken after the meals.