Clonidine details

In class we talked about clonidine only very briefly. Here is a recent summary of comments from an article shown in eMedicine/Medscape, just so you can see how little we scratched the surface...and if you were to look at the entire article you will see how many considerations need to be made to treat a patient who may suffer from serious adverse effects.
Summary of clinical uses and adverse effects:

Clonidine is a central alpha-agonist that is used as an antihypertensive agent. Other reported clinical uses include treatment of opiate and alcohol withdrawal and control of atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular rate. It is also used as a pediatric preanesthetic, for pediatric postoperative pain management, treatment of migraine headaches, nicotine addiction, menopausal flushing, attention deficit disorder, Tourette syndrome, and pediatric panic and anxiety disorders.

At therapeutic doses (0.2-0.9 mg/d), clonidine is commonly associated with adverse effects such as dry mouth, sedation, dizziness, and constipation. While generally safe, at toxic doses, it can cause serious cardiopulmonary instability and central nervous system (CNS) depression in children and adults.