Letter sent to the New York Times

[Guest guest]

I recently read your article in the New York Times about the use of Miralax in

pediatrics. I appreciated that the article was well written and presented

unbiased information about the use of Miralax in children. However, the Yahoo

group that was referenced in the article may have created more harm than benefit

for parents concerned for their children's chronic constipation.

Due to the fact that this article produced much controversy on this topic, I

chose to research the subject further. My goal was to examine the current

research available on the safety of this product, while also bringing to light

the dangers of using an online chat group as a reference for unsound medical

advice. When parents see an online group referenced in a stately journal like

the New York Times, they assume that the information found is credible. However,

this group has provided unregulated information to parents in order to help them

make uneducated medical decisions.

In order to gain access to this Yahoo group I signed up under the alias,

" concernedparent1978. " After acceptance by the webmaster, I spent two weeks

reviewing posts and various files that had been saved for parents to reference.

The information I found was very disturbing. Parents provided personal

testimonies while contributing unsubstantiated symptoms to their children's use

of Miralax. Claims ranged from newly discovered OCD problems such as " pulling

out every fiber of carpet in a one diameter circle " to " eating peeling skin " to

one child wanting to harm their sibling.

It was clear from reading the various posts from members of this group that

most of the subscribers grossly misunderstand how to evaluate scientific

evidence. Several posts tried to extrapolate information from chemically

unrelated compounds regarding the safety for the use of polyethylene glycol in

humans.

Given that the majority of the symptoms attributed to the use of Miralax were

unsubstantiated, I referenced several reputable sources in order to better

understand the known side effects of this medication. I found two studies

examining the long term effects of using Miralax for chronic constipation in

children. One study followed 49 children for 12 months, and another examined the

efficacy and safety in 83 children after 8 ½ months. The information discovered

was conducted in a scientific manner and findings were interpreted by medical

professionals. I feel that It is information like the two aforementioned

studies that should be recognized and referenced for parents, not chat groups

that provide contraindicated medical advice.

In conclusion, I wanted to express my concern about the dangers of allowing

chat room activity to be published. I appreciate your willingness to publish

information that gives people hope, especially when there are seemingly no

options remaining. However, acknowledging the potential danger of using

unregulated information to make medical decisions is important.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to voice my concern. I have included

my references for your review.

- From 2 concerned Pharmacy students

References

Bell EA, Wall GC. Pediatric Constipation Therapy Using Guidelines and

Polyethylene Glycol 3350. The ls of Pharmacotherapy. 2004. 686-693

Shah S, Prematta T, Adkinson FN, Ishmael FT. Hypersensitivity to Polyethylene

Glycols. J Clin Pharmacol. 8 May 2012.

Loeing-Baucke V. Polyethylene Glycol Without Electrolytes for Children with

Constipation and Encopresis. J Pediatr Gastr Nutr. April 2002. 34:372-377

Pashankar DS, Loening-Baucke V, Bishop WP. Safety of Polyethylene Glycol 3350

for the Treatment of Chronic Constipation in Children. Arch Pediat Adol Med.

July 2003. 661-664

Saint Louis, C. (2012, May 25). Miralax, drug for adults, is popular as

children's remedy. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com.