Effect of acetazolamide on secretion of sodium and potassium by the human stomach

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and Pancreatic Laboratory, Department of Surgery, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City

The effect of intravenous infusion of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, acetazolamide (Diamox), on the secretion of sodium and potassium by the unstimulated (basal) and histamine-stimulated stomach has been studied in 20 human subjects, using a dosage of 50–100 mg/kg of the drug. Acetazolamide causes a decrease in output of Na and K ions, as well as a decrease in the output of HCI. These effects are more marked after histamine. The reduction in output of K is directly correlated with the reduction in volume rate; however, the decrease in Na output is less than can be accounted for by flow rates. The familiar inverse relationship between concentrations of sodium and hydrogen ions persists after acetazolamide. The effects of actazolamide on secretion of Na and K are believed to follow changes induced by the compound on the primary mechanism of acid secretion.