The use of clonidine to manage chronic refractory diarrhoea in a palliative patient: A case report

Abstract

A pancreatic cancer patient presents with functionally disabling chronic refractory diarrhoea that is unresponsive to common antidiarrheal pharmacotherapies, including octreotide. Autonomic enteropathy was thought to be an underlying mechanism of the diarrhoea, given the patient’s history of diabetes, coeliac plexus blocks, and pancreaticoduodenectomy. In the non-palliative context, clonidine is increasingly being used to treat diarrhoea of multiple aetiologies, including autonomic enteropathy. Within 1 week of commencing clonidine, the patient’s diarrhoea had resolved, without significant adverse events, suggesting a potential role for clonidine in the palliation of refractory diarrhoea.

Keywords:

• Clonidine
• Diarrhoea
• Coeliac plexus block
• Octreotide
• Autonomic enteropathy

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.