Octreotide in the treatment of refractory diarrhea

Refractory chronic diarrhea that does not respond to specific antimicrobial therapy or standard unspecific medication may present a challenging and serious clinical problem. Octreotide is a candidate drug for the treatment of these patients as it inhibits gastrointestinal motility, pancreatic secretion and inhibits intestinal absorption. Only few mostly uncontrolled studies in small patient groups were published evaluating the efficacy of octreotide in the treatment of patients with chemotherapy-induced diarrhea, short-bowel syndrome, AIDS-associated diarrhea and other conditions with chronic diarrhea not responding to standard treatment. Most of these studies are not conclusive as they yielded either negative or controversial results. Octreotide may be tried in the treatment of refractory diarrhea, in particular AIDS-associated diarrhea if patients do not respond to conventional treatment strategies. Well-designed controlled trials in large patient groups are needed in order to define the place of octreotide in the treatment of patients with refractory diarrhea.