Any oral drug taken at the same time that activated charcoal is ingested will probably be absorbed onto the activated charcoal. This means that the drug will not be absorbed, resulting in subtherapeutic dosing.
Reasons people may ingest activated charcoal:
(1) poisoning (most common reason)
(2) diarrhea
(3) intestinal gas with flatus and abdominal bloating
(4) to reduce odor associated with a bowel stoma
Clinical findings:
(1) Lack of effect for an orally administered drug. Blood levels for the drug are low or absent.
(2) Normal effect if the drug is administered parenterally or if the charcoal is discontinued.
Examples of drugs that have not been absorbed because of concurrent charcoal intake:
(1) oral anticoagulants
(2) oral contraceptives
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