Question

IV Mannitol is used for treatment of

• A. Acute congestive glaucoma
• B. Pulmonary edema
• C. Acute renal failure
• D. CHF

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: The pharmacology hinge here is mannitol's behaviour as a non-reabsorbed osmotic agent that increases the osmolarity of plasma and various fluid compartments.
Step 2: By creating an osmotic gradient across the eye, intravenous mannitol shifts water out of the vitreous and aqueous compartments, dropping intraocular pressure. This is why it is reached for in an acute angle-closure (congestive) glaucoma crisis.
Step 3: The same osmotic load is a liability in the cardiopulmonary distractors: by first expanding circulating volume it can tip a failing heart or congested lung into worse overload, so pulmonary edema and CHF are inappropriate uses.
Step 4: In oliguric or anuric acute renal failure, the drug is not cleared and builds up, so it is avoided. The single correct indication offered is acute congestive glaucoma.
\[\boxed{\text{Acute congestive glaucoma}}\]