Severe Diarrhea after Colonic Pseudo-Obstruction: Treatment with Somatostatin

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Abstract
To the Editor: Somatostatin, a cyclic tetradecapeptide, has a wide spectrum of gastrointestinal actions, including inhibition of gastric and intestinal secretion, gut motility, pancreatic secretion, and hormone release.1 Clinically, somatostatin has been used to treat bleeding peptic ulcer,2 control the flushing in carcinoid syndrome,3 reduce the outputs of small-bowel and pancreatic fistulas,4 suppress the hyperinsulinemia and hyperglucagonemia in patients with isletcell neoplasms,5 6 7 and control diarrhea in patients with pancreatic cholera.8 We report here the successful use of somatostatin to control diarrhea and resultant hypokalemia in a patient with acute colonic pseudo-obstruction.A 66-year-old man was admitted with abdominal pain and . . .