Effects of indomethacin in congenital chloride diarrhea

Clinical and biochemical effects of indomethacin were monitored in a patient with congenital chloride diarrhea (CCD) before and after 10 days of therapy. During indomethacin treatment, no clinical improvement could be achieved whereas hyperreninemia and hyperaldosteronism improved. Excretion rates of prostaglandin (PG) E2, PGF2 alpha, as well as PGE-M were found to be slightly raised and decreased during therapy with indomethacin. However, loss of electrolytes remained substantially unchanged. Prostaglandins, therefore, seem to play no important role in intestinal loss of electrolytes in CCD, and it is suggested that indomethacin is of no importance in the treatment of patients with CCD.