Effect of a Fixed-Dose Opioid Agonist/Antagonist on Constipation in Patients on Long-term Opioids for Non-Malignant Pain Unable to Tolerate Laxatives

摘要

Chronic pain affects a large number of patients throughout the world and impacts greatly on their quality of life, including the ability of a patient to sleep, go to work, and socialize. Guidance on the use of opioids in chronic pain patients is available from the British Pain Society; however, patients receiving opioid treatment for their pain often suffer from symptoms associated with opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD), including constipation. The usual treatment of constipation in these patients is laxatives; however, one study has shown that 54% of patients do not receive the desired results from this approach. Oxycodonealoxone tablets have been shown to provide analgesia to chronic pain patients, while improving the symptoms of OIBD, as the naloxone component blocks the effects of oxycodone at opioid receptors in the gut.