Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
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A 43-year-old patient with adult respiratory distress syndrome, alcoholic hallucinosis, and delirium required significant amounts of lorazepam, morphine, and midazolam for management of agitation and increased peak airway pressures. Broad-spectrum antibiotics and intermittent pancuronium therapy were instituted. A nasoenteral feeding tube was placed for nutrition and medication administration during mechanical ventilation. ⋯ A search for drug-related contributing factors to the diarrhea revealed polyethylene glycol present in the lorazepam solution. It was postulated that this could be a contributing cause to the diarrhea. The lorazepam solution was changed to enterally administered crushed tablets with subsequent resolution of diarrhea.