Treatment of Chronic Constipation: Prescription Medications and Surgical Therapies

Constipation is a highly prevalent disorder that affects people regardless of age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status. For many patients, constipation is a chronic condition that reduces quality of life. Chronic constipation also imposes a significant economic burden on the health care system. The treatment of constipation remains problematic for both patients and providers for a variety of reasons, including a lack of specificity of symptoms, an inconsistent relationship between underlying pathophysiology and symptom generation, and different and unpredictable patient responses to medications. A large number of over-the-counter agents are used to treat symptoms of constipation, although many of these agents are not effective, and data to support their use are limited and generally of poor quality. Patients referred for consultation typically have failed therapy with over-the-counter agents and require prescription medications or possibly even surgical therapy. This article discusses medical treatments and surgical options for chronic idiopathic constipation.