Eur Rev Med Pharmaco
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Eur Rev Med Pharmaco · Dec 2010
Multicenter StudyOpioid-related bowel dysfunction: prevalence and identification of predictive factors in a large sample of Italian patients on chronic treatment.
Opioid-bowel dysfunction (OBD) is a broad range of symptoms potentially associated with opioid therapy. This prospective, multicentric study assesses the prevalence of OBD in patients on analgesic therapy for the treatment of pain from any cause and identifies the factors associated with the onset of this side effect. ⋯ Even with the limitation of any observational experience, this study suggests, for the first time, the existence of some factors predictive of the onset of OBD symptoms in patients on analgesic treatment. Moreover, different opioids seem to be associated with a different risk of experiencing these symptoms.