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. 2021 Jul 29;5(3):291-296.
doi: 10.23922/jarc.2020-104. eCollection 2021.

Tolerance and Efficacy of Polyethylene Glycol 4000 in Elderly Patients with Chronic Constipation: A Retrospective, Single-center, Observational Study

Tatsuya Abe  1 , Masao Kunimoto  1 , Yoshikazu Hachiro  1 , Kei Ohara  1 , Mitsuhiro Inagaki  1 , Houhei Hishiyama  1 , Masanori Murakami  2
Affiliations

Tolerance and Efficacy of Polyethylene Glycol 4000 in Elderly Patients with Chronic Constipation: A Retrospective, Single-center, Observational Study

Tatsuya Abe et al. J Anus Rectum Colon. .

Abstract

Objectives: This retrospective, observational study aimed to evaluate the tolerance and efficacy of polyethylene glycol 4000 plus electrolytes (PEG 4000) in elderly patients with chronic constipation.

Methods: PEG 4000 powder was orally administered once daily at a dose of one or two 6.9 g sachets as the initial dose. The outcome measures were changes in the Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score (CCCS) and the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) value before and 2 weeks after drug administration.

Results: This study included 324 patients aged ≥65 years (mean age: 78.6 ± 7.6 years, range: 65-100 years) with chronic constipation. The total CCCS was noted to significantly improve from 11.5 ± 4.6 at baseline to 7.4 ± 5.2 after drug administration. All CCCS sub-scores also improved significantly. The average BSFS value at baseline (2.5 ± 1.6) significantly improved to 4.3 ± 1.1 after treatment. Side effects (16 events) were observed in 13 patients (4.0%), with the most common being diarrhea (6 patients, 1.9%). All events were mild in severity, with none of the symptoms being serious. The cumulative treatment continuation rate at 1 year was 83.1%.

Conclusions: PEG 4000 treatment was safe, effective, and well tolerated in elderly patients with chronic constipation. Thus, it appears to be a promising drug that can be continued for a long time.

Keywords: chronic constipation; elderly; evacuation difficulty; laxatives; polyethylene glycol.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest Tatsuya Abe received lecture fees from Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Histogram of Bristol Stool Form Scale values at baseline and 2 weeks after polyethylene glycol 4000 administration. Values of 1 and 2 indicate that hard stool markedly decreased, whereas values of 4 and 5 mean that normal stool increased.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier plots indicating the probability of continuing treatment with polyethylene glycol 4000. The cumulative continuation rate at 12 months was 83.1% (95% CI: 77.0 to 87.7).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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