[Thoracolumbar or sacral epidural administration of clonidine in deafferentation pain: possibilities, limits and long-term follow-up].

Clonidine was administered by epidural injections with per os relay and long term therapeutic follow-up to 38 patients with deafferentation neurological sequellar pain either fully or partly intractable to classical pain treatments. In such types of pain, this technique provides hypoalgesia which can be enhanced by the administration of serotoninergic anti-depressants or low dose tricyclics. However, side effects may occur. After some time, a tolerance develops with a lesser antalgic efficiency, as well as rare cases of withdrawal syndromes when the treatment is suddenly discontinued.