SynthesisFrontiers in pharmacology2025
Efficacy and safety of opioid-receptor antagonists for opioid-induced constipation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is a common and serious side effect of long-term opioid analgesic therapy. As traditional laxatives often show limited efficacy, it is crucial to explore treatment strategies that effectively relieve constipation without compromising analgesic effects. In response to this clinical need, Opioid-receptor antagonists have been approved for OIC. Although new evidence has emerged in recent years, a comprehensive analysis of efficacy outcomes (such as constipation symptoms, quality of life, and satisfaction) is still lacking. Objective: To summarise and analyze evidence on the efficacy and safety of opioid-receptor antagonists in treating patients with OIC. Method: A systematic search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library up to 11 September 2025. A meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan and Stata, and the GRADE method was employed to evaluate the quality of evidence. Results: A total of 20 studies (22 RCTs) involving 7,761 patients were included. Opioid-receptor antagonists significantly increased the change in spontaneous bowel movement (WMD = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.74-1.46); improved the proportion of responders (RR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.28-1.70); enhanced quality of life (WMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.28 to -0.12) and treatment satisfaction (WMD = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.10). The patient assessment of constipation symptoms questionnaire showed a minor tendency of improvement (WMD = -0.16, 95% CI: -0.31 to 0.00). The incidence of serious adverse events indicates that no statistically significant difference was observed between treatment and placebo (RR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.74-1.05). The incidence of other adverse events was higher in the treatment group than in the placebo group (RR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08-1.38). Conclusion: Opioid-receptor antagonists are effective in treating patients with OIC. The risk of serious adverse events did not change statistically. The incidence of adverse events appears to increase with longer treatment duration, although this observation seems to require further validation. Systematic Review Registration: CRD420251154280.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.