Treatment of Chronic Constipation: Prescription Medications and Surgical Therapies.
Constipation is a highly prevalent disorder that affects people regardless of age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status. For many patients, constipation is a chronic condition that reduces quality of life. Chronic constipation also imposes a significant economic burden on the health care system. The treatment of constipation remains problematic for both patients and providers for a variety of reasons, including a lack of specificity of symptoms, an inconsistent relationship between underlying pathophysiology and symptom generation, and different and unpredictable patient responses to medications. A large number of over-the-counter agents are used to treat symptoms of constipation, although many of these agents are not effective, and data to support their use are limited and generally of poor quality. Patients referred for consultation typically have failed therapy with over-the-counter agents and require prescription medications or possibly even surgical therapy. This article discusses medical treatments and surgical options for chronic idiopathic constipation.
Dr Hussain is a gastroenterology fellow, Ms Everhart is a medical student, and Dr Lacy is a professor of medicine and chief of the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Zilla H
ZH
Hussain
Dr Hussain is a gastroenterology fellow, Ms Everhart is a medical student, and Dr Lacy is a professor of medicine and chief of the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Kelly
K
Everhart
Dr Hussain is a gastroenterology fellow, Ms Everhart is a medical student, and Dr Lacy is a professor of medicine and chief of the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Brian E
BE
Lacy
Chronic constipation; bile acid—modifying agents; chenodeoxycholic acid; linaclotide; lubiprostone; sacral nerve stimulation; tegaserod