Treatment of diarrhea in carcinoid syndrome with ondansetron, tropisetron, and clonidine.
A 69-yr-old man with known carcinoid syndrome treated with octreotide and interferon-alpha 2b developed diarrhea, with six to eight watery to semiliquid stools per day. Diminished stool frequency and increased stool consistency were obtained by treatment with the 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptor antagonists ondansetron and tropisetron. Successful alleviation of the diarrhea was also observed with the alpha 2-receptor agonist clonidine. These observations indicate that these classes of drugs should be evaluated in a controlled trial in patients with carcinoid-associated diarrhea.
Schwörer
H
H
Department of Medicine, University of Göttingen, Germany.
Münke
H
H
Stöckmann
F
F
Ramadori
G
G
D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003000:Clonidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008303:Malignant Carcinoid Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017294:Ondansetron / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077526:Tropisetron
D000932:Antiemetics; D007211:Indoles; D017294:Ondansetron; D000077526:Tropisetron; D003000:Clonidine