Related Experiment Videos
Effect of cisapride on chronic idiopathic constipation in children
A Staiano1, S Cucchiara, M R Andreotti
1Department of Pediatrics, II School of Medicine, University of Naples, Italy.
Insights
Cisapride significantly improved stool frequency and gastrointestinal transit time in children with chronic constipation. This prokinetic drug offers a potential new treatment for pediatric functional constipation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Trial Research
Background:
- Chronic functional constipation is a common pediatric disorder.
- Current treatments may have limitations, necessitating novel therapeutic approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of cisapride, a prokinetic agent, in treating chronic functional constipation in children.
- To assess cisapride's impact on stool frequency, gastrointestinal transit time, and anorectal motility.
Main Methods:
- A 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 20 constipated children.
- Random assignment to receive either cisapride or placebo.
- Evaluation of stool habits, total gastrointestinal transit time, and anorectal motility before and after treatment.
Main Results:
- Cisapride significantly increased stool frequency compared to placebo (5.1 vs. 2.8 stools/week).
- Cisapride significantly reduced total gastrointestinal transit time (90.8 to 57.2 hours).
- Cisapride altered anorectal manometry parameters, including rectoanal inhibitory reflex and rectal sensitivity thresholds.
Conclusions:
- Cisapride effectively improves gastrointestinal motility and bowel habits in children with chronic idiopathic constipation.
- Cisapride demonstrates potential as a therapeutic option for managing pediatric functional constipation.
Abstract:
The efficacy of cisapride, a new prokinetic drug, as a treatment for chronic functional constipation of childhood was studied in 20 constipated children. Each subject had a stool frequency less than 4/week and/or total gastrointestinal transit time greater than 33 hr and was randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with either cisapride (N = 10) or placebo (N = 10) for 12 weeks. Stool habits, total gastrointestinal transit time, and anorectal motility were evaluated in all children before and at the end of the treatment period. Cisapride significantly increased stool frequency from 1.2 +/- 0.6 to 5.1 +/- 1.9 stools/week (mean +/- SD; P less than 0.05), whereas the lesser effect of placebo was not significant (1.2 +/- 0.8 to 2.8 +/- 0.8 stools/week; P = 0.4). Both treatments significantly (P less than 0.05) decreased laxative or suppository use. Total gastrointestinal transit time was decreased by cisapride (90.8 +/- 9.2 hr to 57.2 +/- 20.2 hr; P less than 0.05) but was not affected by placebo. Anorectal manometry showed that cisapride, but not placebo, significantly decreased the rectoanal inhibitory reflex threshold and the conscious rectal sensitivity threshold. It is concluded that cisapride improves gastrointestinal motility and bowel habits in children with chronic idiopathic constipation and may be useful in the management of some children with this disorder.