Review article: the pharmacological treatment of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction

Acute colonic pseudo-obstruction (Ogilvie's syndrome) can be defined as a clinical condition with symptoms, signs and radiological appearance of acute large bowel obstruction unrelated to any mechanical cause. Recent reports of the efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors in relieving acute colonic pseudo-obstruction have fuelled interest in the pharmacological treatment of this condition. The aim of the present review is to outline current perspectives in the pharmacological treatment of patients with acute colonic pseudo-obstruction. The best documented pharmacological treatment of Ogilvie's syndrome is intravenous neostigmine (2-2.5 mg), which leads to quick decompression in a significant proportion of patients after a single infusion. However, the search for new colokinetic agents for the treatment of lower gut motor disorders has made available a number of drugs that may also be therapeutic options for Ogilvie's syndrome. Among these agents, the potential of 5-hydroxytryptamine-4 receptor agonists and motilin receptor agonists is discussed.