Der Internist
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Case Reports
[Withdrawal in a patient with an implantable drug delivery system in spite of continuation of opiate therapy].
A male patient with severe chronic pain has been treated with a combined drug therapy scheme of morphine and clonidine. After cessation of clonidine the patient reported opiate-withdrawal symptoms with agitation, polyuria, diarrhea, and hyperalgesia. It is known that the combination of these two substances causes synergistic analgetic effects. The abrupt cessation of clonidine after a combined administration with morphine seems to lead to a relative decrease in opiate effects and furthermore excite opiate-withdrawal symptoms.