A randomised controlled trial was conducted to investigate the ability of
chlorpromazine to reduce intestinal secretion in
cholera.
Chlorpromazine had reduced loss of intestinal fluid in animals with diarrhoea induced by
cholera toxin, and in a preliminary study the
drug had reduced purging in patients with
cholera. Forty-six adults with
cholera were included in the randomised trial. Of these, 34 were treated with
chlorpromazine (1 mg/kg or 4 mg/kg either by mouth or intramuscularly) and 12 served as controls.
After treatment with the
drug there was a significantly greater reduction in the rate of fluid loss in the treated patients than in the controls during the first (p less than 0.005), second (p less than 0.05), and fourth (p less than 0.01) eight-hour periods, but not during the third eight-hour period; the dose of 4 mg/kg was only marginally more effective than 1 mg/kg. The effect of
chlorpromazine was strikingly biphasic, with one peak during the first eight hours and another 24-32 hours after administration.
Chlorpromazine also significantly reduced the duration of diarrhoea, frequency of
vomiting, and amount of intravenous fluid required. The
drug induced mild sedation and no
hypotension in these well-hydrated patients. These findings confirm the effectiveness of
chlorpromazine in reducing fluid loss in
cholera. A
sedative effect, however, especially in children, may limit its usefulness and requires further study.