Your Health

Finding New Ways To Treat Constipation Caused By Opioid Pain Medicines

Posted: 9/30/2011

A physician can share information about trials like the KODIAC study for patients experiencing constipation from opioid pain medicines.

(NAPSI)—People who suffer from serious medical conditions like osteoarthritis and cancer know that chronic and severe pain from these conditions can make even simple household tasks and everyday activities difficult. To help manage pain, people are often prescribed opioid pain medicines, like morphine. These medicines, known as “opioids,” are well-established and typically considered the mainstay for pain management.

But while opioids are often effective to reduce pain, these medicines can result in debilitating side effects that are sometimes severe enough to limit their use and interfere with a patient’s pain treatment. One of the most common side effects is constipation, which causes infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stools or emptying bowels.

Some studies have shown that up to 50 percent of patients taking opioids suffer from constipation.

Laxatives, stool softeners, enemas or diet alterations can be used to treat constipation. These remedies may not always be helpful and can be inconvenient and impractical. This is why clinical trials looking at new approaches to prevent or treat medical problems like opioid-induced constipation are important.

New Clinical Research Study

AstraZeneca is sponsoring one such clinical trial known as the KODIAC study, which is evaluating whether an investigational drug may be safe and effective in treating opioid-induced constipation.

“Patients taking opioid pain medicines and experiencing constipation are encouraged to speak with their physicians about participating in the KODIAC study,” said Chris Fleischmann, R.N., Study Leader, AstraZeneca. “Participants in this study will have an opportunity to receive research drug treatment for constipation and standard care, including laxatives.”

If you fit the descriptions below, you may be eligible to participate in this trial:

• 18 years or older and live in the United States;

• Have been taking at least one prescription opioid pain medicine every day for at least four weeks;

• Experiencing constipation.

Learn More

People who are interested in more information about this trial for themselves or loved ones should visit www.painconstipationstudy.com or call (866) 320-6955. You can also learn more about the KODIAC study by watching a short video at http://ow.ly/5Sjow. These resources provide helpful information about study eligibility, enrollment requirements and study location sites.