Cholestyramine therapy for intractable diarrhea.

Abstract

Seven infants with persistent diarrhea have been successfully treated with a brief course of oral cholestyramine therapy. Two of these infants had diarrhea in the form of profuse watery ileostomy discharge. It is suggested that the mode of action of this drug may be through binding of endotoxin and/or bile acids in the intestinal lumen, thus allowing time for recovery from injury of the intestinal mucosa.