ReviewCureus2025
Pharmacotherapy for Chronic Idiopathic Constipation and Constipation-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Beyond Conventional Laxatives: A Narrative Review.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) are two highly prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders that share overlapping features but differ in their pathophysiology and symptom profiles. Both conditions impose a significant socioeconomic burden due to their high prevalence, chronic nature, and impact on daily life. Treatment for chronic constipation begins with lifestyle modifications, including fiber supplementation, and progresses to osmotic and/or stimulant laxatives if the response is inadequate. About half of the patients treated with conventional laxatives do not respond sufficiently, which is due to multiple factors and requires additional therapy. Newer pharmacological agents for CIC and IBS-C are characterized by their targeted mechanisms, including enterokinetics, secretagogues, bile acid modulators, and sodium/hydrogen exchanger-3 inhibitors. Secretagogues like linaclotide improve both motility and sensory symptoms, which are often poorly managed by conventional laxatives. A drug-free treatment called the Vibrant capsule has been approved for CIC, enhancing peristalsis and bowel movements in patients unresponsive to traditional laxatives. Correct differentiation between CIC and IBS-C is essential, as misclassification can lead to suboptimal treatment outcomes. Future therapies are expected to better address the distinct yet overlapping features of these disorders, providing patient-specific treatment, improving symptom relief, and enhancing overall quality of life. The insights synthesized in this review may enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind pharmacotherapy for chronic constipation and support their application in clinical practice to better patient outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.