Clonidine

Excerpt

Clonidine is an antihypertensive medication that acts on alpha-adrenergic and imidazoline receptor agonists. Clonidine is an antihypertensive drug that lowers blood pressure and heart rate by relaxing the arteries and increasing the blood supply to the heart; it has other FDA-approved indications such as treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children (FDA approval 2010); management of tics commonly found with Tourette syndrome; and adjunct therapy for severing cancer-related pain. This activity reviews the mechanism of action, adverse event profile, toxicity, dosing, pharmacodynamics, and monitoring of clonidine, pertinent for interprofessional team members when indicated for therapy.