How Well do you Know Chronic Constipation and IBS-C? – Interactive Quiz

March 4, 2020

Constipation and IBS-C

A few years ago I wrote a few programs on constipation and IBS-C.  Both of these conditions are highly prevalent and cause patients significant distress.  There are some good resources if you want to learn more:

Interactive Quiz (15 T/F Questions)

I thought I would do a quick quiz on constipation and IBS.  I hope you find it helpful.

1. To be diagnosed with chronic functional constipation the patient must have less than 2 bowel movements per week.

2. Patients with IBS will commonly experience recurrent abdominal pain related to defecation with a change in form of stool.

3. The recommended daily fibre intake is 25-38 grams per day.

4. When recommending osmotic laxatives, lactulose is generally preferred for most patients.

5. When starting fibre intake, increase by 3 g/day per week.

6. The recommended dosage of PEG 3350 is 17 g per day PRN

7. Stool softeners increase the water content in stool and there is strong evidence that they increase the efficacy of stimulant laxatives.

8. Insoluble fibre is generally preferred over soluble fibre as it is more effective.

9. In patients with chronic constipation, stimulant laxatives are generally reserved for rescue therapy.

10. Clinicians should consider second-line therapy in patients with chronic constipation who have not found relief of symptoms after 2 weeks of laxative use.

11. The first-line therapy for chronic constipation are osmotic laxatives.

12. The dosing of linaclotide is different for chronic idiopathic constipation than for IBS

13. Patients experiencing new onset of chronic constipation or IBS symptoms after the age of 50 years should be referred to a specialist

14. The prevalence of opioid-induced constipation occurs in almost half of patients on opioids for chronic non-cancer pain

15. The most common adverse effect with linaclotide is diarrhea, where prucalopride commonly causes headache, nausea, and diarrhea.


 

References

  1. Lacy, Brian E., Fermín Mearin, Lin Chang, William D. Chey, Anthony J. Lembo, Magnus Simren, and Robin Spiller. “Bowel Disorders.” Gastroenterology 150, no. 6 (May 2016): 1393-1407.e5. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2016.02.031.
  2. Tse, Yvonne, David Armstrong, Christopher N. Andrews, Alain Bitton, Brian Bressler, John Marshall, and Louis Liu. “Treatment Algorithm for Chronic Idiopathic Constipation and Constipation Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Derived from A Canadian National Survey and Needs Assessment on Choices of Therapeutic Agents.” The Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Ahead of print (n.d.).