Role of alpha-2 agonist clonidine in attenuation of hot flashes in patients with acute opioid abstinence syndrome

ABSTRACT

The demand for nonhormonal interventions for hot flashes is increasing because of the number of patients diagnosed with hormone-sensitive cancers and the hormone replacement therapy is not as beneficial as originally believed. So this study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of Clonidine in hot flashes, the most frequently reported subjective symptom of acute opioid abstinence syndrome. The study was a 10 days single-blind, random-assignment, inpatient trial of Clonidine for patients of opioid abstinence syndrome with a very common symptom the hot flashes. 20 patients were given Clonidine 300 meg/ day in divided doses. All patients, who have completed the treatment program, stayed in the hospital for 10 days. Mean absolute change scores of number of hot flashes per day at endpoint, with baseline scores, showed a very rapid and highly significant decline with Clonidine treatment program. The investigators found a benefit of Clonidine in hot flashes