Jesuyajolu DA, Abubakar AK, Kowe T, Ogunlade S, Abioye AI, Tangeman J, Latuga N, Omotayo MO. The Management of Opioid-Induced Constipation in Cancer and Advanced Illness: A Meta-Analysis.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2024;
67:e285-e297. [PMID:
38092261 DOI:
10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.12.010]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT
Constipation is a common problem among patients with cancer. By some accounts, about 60% of cancer patients experience constipation. There is limited empirical evidence of the clinical effectiveness of pharmacologic agents in opioid-induced constipation in advanced diseases.
OBJECTIVES
We sought to quantitatively summarize the therapeutic effectiveness of the pharmacologic means of managing opioid-induced constipation.
METHODS
Randomized control trials (RCTs) identified from medical literature databases that reported quantitative measures of the effect of pharmacotherapeutic agents to treat opioid induced constipation in patients with cancers and other advanced illnesses were included in this study. A conventional random effects meta-analysis was conducted including >3 trials with the same exposure and outcome assessed, and a network-meta-analysis was conducted for all placebo-controlled trials.
RESULTS
Eighteen studies that examined the effect of various pharmacotherapeutic agents were included. The medications were Methylnatrexone (N = 5), Naldemedine (N = 5), other conventional agents (N = 4) and herbal medicines (N = 4). In conventional meta-analysis, methylnaltrexone increased the proportion achieving rescue-free laxation by 2.68 fold (95% CI: 1.34, 5.37; P = 0.0054) within 4 hours of the administration compared to placebo. In network meta-analysis, the pooled RR of the pharmacotherapeutic agents on rescue-free bowel movements as 2.26 (95% CI: 1.52, 3.36) for methylnaltrexone, 1.58 (95% CI: 0.94, 2.66) for naldemedine, and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.45, 1.23) for polyethylene glycol, compared to placebo.
CONCLUSION
Methylnatrexone and Naldemedine have currently shown promise in randomized trials concerning opioid-induced constipation in cancer and advanced illness. It is imperative that future research ascertain not just the relative therapeutic efficacy but also the cost-benefit analyses of these newer regimens with more commonly used and accessible laxatives.
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