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Efficacy of docusate in the treatment of constipation in pediatric patients
Hamsah Saif1, Tanay Maddula1,2, Kerry Mendelsohn1,3
1NYU Langone Hospital Long Island, Mineola, NY, United States.
Insights
Docusate is effective for treating constipation in hospitalized children, showing similar efficacy and safety to PEG-3350. This study provides the first evidence of docusate
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Constipation is a common issue in pediatric patients.
- Docusate and Polyethylene Glycol 3350 (PEG-3350) are commonly used treatments.
- Limited data exists on docusate's efficacy in pediatric constipation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral docusate in pediatric patients with constipation.
- To compare docusate with PEG-3350 for treating constipation in children.
- To assess the safety and acceptance of both docusate and PEG-3350.
Main Methods:
- Multicenter retrospective study involving 180 pediatric patients (1 month to 18 years).
- Patients received either oral docusate or PEG-3350 during hospitalization.
- Outcomes included bowel movement occurrence within 72 hours, time to first bowel movement, frequency, adverse effects, and acceptance.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in bowel movement occurrence within 72 hours between docusate (66.67%) and PEG-3350 (71.11%) groups (p=0.5196).
- Time to first bowel movement was similar for both groups (48.9 hours vs. 45.4 hours, p=0.3283).
- Adverse effects and patient acceptance were comparable between the docusate and PEG-3350 groups.
Conclusions:
- Oral docusate is effective in treating acute constipation in hospitalized pediatric patients.
- Docusate demonstrates comparable efficacy and safety to PEG-3350 in this pediatric population.
- Further prospective trials are recommended to confirm these findings.
Objectives:
We hypothesized that docusate is effective in the treatment of constipation in pediatric patients. Secondary outcomes included the safety and acceptance of docusate as well as the efficacy, safety and acceptance of PEG-3350 in the treatment of constipation.
Methods:
This multicenter retrospective study included children 1 month to 18 years of age who received either oral docusate or PEG-3350 during their hospital admission. We documented the occurrence of bowel movements within the first 72 h of drug administration. We also evaluated time to first bowel movement, frequency of bowel movements per 24-hour periods, adverse effects and acceptance of docusate/PEG-3350 by the patients, concomitant medications, and response according to medical history.
Results:
There were 90 patients in each of the docusate and PEG-3350 groups. Bowel movements occurred within 72 h in 66.67% in the docusate group and 71.11% in the PEG-3350 group. There was no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.5196). The time to achieve first bowel movement was not different between groups (48.9 h vs. 45.4 h, docusate and PEG-3350, p = 0.3283). There were no differences in adverse effects or acceptance between groups.
Conclusions:
This is the first study that proves the efficacy of oral docusate in the treatment of hospitalized pediatric patients with acute constipation. It is also the first study that shows no difference in efficacy between docusate and PEG-3350 in pediatric patients. We hope a prospective trial would further confirm our findings.
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