Clonidine treatment of acute pancreatitis: report of five cases
Lechín, F.; Van der Dijs, B.; Lechín, M.; Jara, H.; Lechín, A.; Cabrera, A.; Rada, I.; Orozco, B.; Jiménez, V.; Valderrama, T.
Acta Gastroenterologica Latinoamericana 22(2): 119-124
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0300-9033 PMID: 1300848 Document Number: 403412
We report five consecutive cases of patients with acute pancreatitis resistant to conventional treatment who improved dramatically with clonidine. All patients showed greatly elevated noradrenaline, adrenaline and cortisol plasma levels (physiological indicators of stress) which fell abruptly upon initiation of clonidine therapy. The clonidine test performed in the patients showed a hyper-response in all, a reaction consistent with uncoping stress situation. Therefore, we postulate that stress might play a role in the pathogenesis of these patients pancreatic inflammatory disease.