Opioid-Induced Constipation : Pathophysiology, Clinical Consequences, and Management

Joint Authors

Barker, Chris
Kumar, Lalit
Emmanuel, Anton

Source

Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Issue

Vol. 2014, Issue 2014 (31 Dec. 2014), pp.1-6, 6 p.

Publisher

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Publication Date

2014-05-05

Country of Publication

Egypt

No. of Pages

6

Main Subjects

Diseases

Abstract EN

Although opioids offer potent analgesia for severe acute and chronic noncancer pain, adverse gastrointestinal effects potentially undermine their clinical utility.

In particular, between 40% and 95% of patients develop opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

Therefore, there is a consensus that patients should commence laxatives at the start of opioid therapy and continue throughout treatment.

Nevertheless, laxatives are not routinely coprescribed with opioids.

Even when concurrent laxatives are prescribed, approximately half the patients treated for OIC do not achieve the desired improvement.

Moreover, laxatives do not target the underlying cause of OIC (opioid binding to the μ-receptors in the enteric system) and as such are not very effective at managing OIC.

The failure of lifestyle modification and laxatives to treat adequately many cases of OIC led to the concurrent use of peripherally acting opioid antagonists (such as methylnaltrexone bromide and naloxone) to reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events without compromising analgesia.

Judicious use of the various options to manage OIC should allow more patients to benefit from opioid analgesia.

Therefore, this paper reviews the causes, consequences, and management of OIC to help clinicians optimise opioid analgesia.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Kumar, Lalit& Barker, Chris& Emmanuel, Anton. 2014. Opioid-Induced Constipation : Pathophysiology, Clinical Consequences, and Management. Gastroenterology Research and Practice،Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-449052

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Kumar, Lalit…[et al.]. Opioid-Induced Constipation : Pathophysiology, Clinical Consequences, and Management. Gastroenterology Research and Practice No. 2014 (2014), pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-449052

American Medical Association (AMA)

Kumar, Lalit& Barker, Chris& Emmanuel, Anton. Opioid-Induced Constipation : Pathophysiology, Clinical Consequences, and Management. Gastroenterology Research and Practice. 2014. Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-449052

Data Type

Journal Articles

Language

English

Notes

Includes bibliographical references

Record ID

BIM-449052