Pediatric blood & cancer
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Apr 2010
Multicenter StudyInpatient use of laxatives during opioid administration in children with sickle cell disease.
Constipation is a frequent adverse drug event seen with opioids, the first-line therapy for sickle cell pain crises. Proactive use of laxatives and stool softeners is recommended when opioids are prescribed. Our objective was to generate national estimates of the inpatient use of laxatives during opioid administration in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and identify associations between individual and hospital-level factors and laxative prescription. ⋯ A substantial number of hospitalized patients with SCD receiving opioids do not receive laxatives and there is unexpected variability in the use of these medications. Increased attention needs to be paid to constipation prophylaxis in patients with SCD, particularly in younger patients and post-surgical patients.