Persistent Diarrhea after Celiac Plexus Block in a Pancreatic Cancer Patient: Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND

Neurolytic celiac plexus block is increasingly used to treat refractory pain associated with abdominal malignancies, especially pancreatic cancer. While self-limiting diarrhea can occur commonly in patients post procedure, a very rare risk of persistent diarrhea exists.

OBJECTIVE

We present a case of a 70 year old female with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma who was hospitalized for persistent severe diarrhea post celiac plexus block and discuss management options for this adverse effect.

METHODS

A review of the current literature within the past 20 years (PubMed and Ovid databases) was conducted to discuss alternatives of management.

RESULTS

Ninety-three entries were found in total including duplicates and only two were included for relevance. Management options that were discussed included anti-motility agents, alpha-adrenergic agonists, and somastatin analog (octreotide). Our patient was initially treated with loperamide, hyoscine, psyllium, and cholestyramine before responding to octreotide. The patient was discharged on long-acting octreotide after her bowel routine stabilized.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent diarrhea is a very rare complication of celiac plexus block and current literature regarding proper management is based largely on anecdotal evidence. For this patient octreotide was an effective agent for the management of this complication.