Medical applications of sodium thiosulfate

Sodium thiosulfate, also spelled sodium thiosulphate, is a colorless crystalline compound that is more familiar as the pentahydrate, Na2S2O3•5H2O, an efflorescent, monoclinic crystalline substance also called sodium hyposulfite or “hypo.”Sodium thiosulfate is used as an antidote to cyanide poisoning. Thiosulfate acts as a sulfur donor for the conversion for cyanide to thiocyanate, catalyzed by the enzyme rhodanase.It has also been used as treatment of calciphylaxis in hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease.Sodium thiosulfate is used in the management of extravasations during chemotherapy. Sodium thiosulfate prevents alkylation and tissue destruction by providing a substrate for the alkylating agents that have invaded the subcutaneous tisuses. The dose may be 2mL of 0.17M. It may be instilled subcutaneously into multiple sites using a small gauge needle. There is limited data on this method with few recommendations. In foot baths for prophylaxis of ringworm, Sodium thiosulfate as a topical antifungal agent for tinea versicolor .in measuring the volume of extracellular body fluid and the renal glomerular filtration rate.