ArticlePain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2017
Laxatives Do Not Improve Symptoms of Opioid-Induced Constipation: Results of a Patient Survey.
Article in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and Efficacy of Manual and Automated Abdominal Colonic Massage for Chronic Constipation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical and translational gastroenterology · 2026Pooled it
- Traditional herbal medicine for opioid-induced constipation in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of opioid-receptor antagonists for opioid-induced constipation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of add-on naldemedine treatment in patients with cancer and opioid-induced constipation insufficiently responding to magnesium oxide: a pooled, subgroup analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Japanese journal of clinical oncology · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The Influence of Renal or Hepatic Impairment on the Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of Naldemedine.Clinical pharmacology in drug development · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Opioid-Induced Constipation: Mechanistic Insights, Experimental Models, and Future Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Opioid-induced constipation in internal medicine: recognition and management pathways.Internal and emergency medicine · 2025Review
- Timing of Naldemedine Initiation and Occurrence of Diarrhea in Patients Receiving Strong Opioid Analgesics: A Retrospective Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Naloxegol for the Treatment of Opioid-Induced Constipation in Patients with Cancer Pain: A Pooled Analysis of Real-World Data.Cancers · 2025Article
- Improving Diagnosis and Management of Opioid-Induced Constipation (OIC) in Clinical Practice: An Italian Expert Opinion.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- One-year efficacy and safety of naloxegol on symptoms and quality of life related to opioid-induced constipation in patients with cancer: KYONAL study.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2023Article
- Advancing peristalsis deciphering in mouse small intestine by multi-parameter tracking.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Subcutaneous Methylnaltrexone as Treatment for Opioid-Induced Constipation in Patients with Advanced Cancer and Noncancer Illnesses: A Post Hoc Analysis of Two Clinical Trials.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Opioid-Induced Constipation in Real-World Practice: A Physician Survey, 1 Year Later.Pain and therapy · 2022Article
- Article
- Impact and Consequences of Opioid-Induced Constipation: A Survey of Patients.Pain and therapy · 2021Article
- Article
- Constipation in Chemotherapy Patients: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionLaxatives are commonly used to treat opioid-induced constipation, the commonest and most bothersome complication of opioids. However, laxatives have a nonspecific action and do not target underlying mechanisms of opioid-induced constipation; their use is associated with abdominal symptoms that negatively impact quality of life.
objectiveTo assess the effects of laxatives in patients taking opioids for chronic pain.
methodsOne hundred ninety-eight UK patients who had taken opioid analgesics for at least one month completed a cross-sectional online or telephone survey. Questions addressed their pain condition, medication, and laxative use (including efficacy and side effects). The survey also assessed bowel function using the Bowel Function Index.
resultsSince starting their current opioid, 134 of 184 patients (73%) had used laxatives at some point and 122 (91%) of these were currently taking them. The most common laxatives were osmotics and stimulants. Laxative side effects were reported in 75%, most commonly gas, bloating/fullness, and a sudden urge to defecate. Side effects were more common in patients less than 40 years of age. Approximately half of patients said laxatives interfered with work and social activities, and one-fifth needed an overnight hospital stay because of their pain condition and/or constipation. Laxatives did not improve the symptoms of constipation, as assessed by the Bowel Function Index. Constipation was not related to opioid strength, dose of opioid, or number of laxatives taken.
conclusionsUse of laxatives to treat opioid-induced constipation is often ineffective and associated with side effects. Instead of relieving the burden of opioid-induced constipation, laxative use is associated with a negative impact.
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