II. Indications
- Emergency Indications
- Esophageal Variceal Hemorrhage
- May decrease Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding rate while awaiting definitive endoscopic management
- Decreases pressure in Portal Hypertension
- Decreases splanchnic Blood Flow and portal venous pressure
- Sulfonylurea Overdose
- Decreases recurrent Hypoglycemia risk
- Octreotide inhibits Insulin release from pancreatic beta cells
- Esophageal Variceal Hemorrhage
- Endocrine Indications
- Diarrhea associated with endocrine tumors
- Carcinoid Tumors
- Intestinal peptide-Secreting tumors
- Has also been used in HIV related Diarrhea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and gastrointestinal fistulas
- Endocrine conditions in children
- Congenital hyperinsulinism
- Hypothalamic Obesity
- Diarrhea associated with endocrine tumors
III. Mechanism
- Similar to Somatostatin, an endogenous Hormone
- Octreotide is a synthetic long-acting cyclic octapeptide that mimics Somatostatin activity
- Broad hormonal release inhibition
- Inhibits Serotonin release
- Inhibits Gastrin release
- Inhibits vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) release
- Inhibits Insulin release
- Inhibits Glucagon release
- Inhibits Secretin release
- Inhibits motilin release
- Inhibits pancreatic peptide release
- Inhibits Growth Hormone and IGF-1 release
- Decreases Luteinizing Hormone (LH) release in response to Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH)
- Decreases Thyroid Stimulating Hormone release (TSH)
- Activity
- Vasoconstriction
- Decreases portal vessel pressure
- Decreased splanchnic Blood Flow
IV. Dosing: Emergent Conditions (off-label)
-
Esophageal Varices
- See Bleeding Esophageal Varices
- Bolus: 50 mcg IV every 1 hour for up to 2 doses
- Maintenance: 25-50 mcg/hour for 2-5 days
-
Sulfonylurea Overdose
- See Sulfonylurea Overdose
- Subcutaneous (preferred SQ, but also be given as IV bolus)
- Adult: 50 mcg SQ (up to 100 mcg) every 6-12 hours as needed
- Child: 1 to 1.25 mcg/kg SQ or IV every 6-12 hours (consult poison control)
- IV infusion: 25-50 mcg/hour for up to 1-2 days as needed for persistent and recurrent Hypoglycemia
- Precautions
- Rebound Hypoglycemia risk when Octreotide is stopped (monitor Glucose for 12-24 hours after last dose)
V. Dosing: Endocrine
-
Diarrhea associated with Carcinoid Tumors or intestinal peptide-Secreting tumors
- Sandostatin 200-300 mcg divided 2-4 times daily given SQ or IV
- Sandostatin LAR 20 mg IM every 4 weeks for 2 months
- Do not start Sandostatin LAR until stabilized on the short-acting Sandostatin
- Endocrine conditions in children
- Congenital hyperinsulinism
- Hypothalamic Obesity
VI. Pharmacokinetics
- Subcutaneous (SQ) absorption is rapid with clinical effects within 30 minutes
- Plasma Half-Life: 1.5 to 2 hours
- However clinical effects last for several hours
- Requires repeat dosing for ongoing indication effects (e.g. Hypoglycemia in Sulfonylurea Overdose)
-
Renal Insufficiency
- Octreotide clearance may be reduced
VII. Adverse Effects
- Hyperglycemia (<27%)
- Fatigue (<10%)
- Headache
- Cardiovascular
- Bradycardia (<25%)
- QT Prolongation
- Gastrointestinal
- Nausea
- Abdominal Pain
- Diarrhea
- Gall Bladder sludging and Biliary Colic
VIII. References
- Kraus and LoVecchio (2018) Crit Dec Emerg Med 32(9): 28
- LoVecchio and Mourad (2018) Crit Dec Emerg Med 40(8): 38