(From left) UAlberta medical researchers Olga Szafran, Rick Spooner and Yoko Tarumi
UAlberta research shows prescribing stool softeners isn't effective in easing constipation for palliative-care patients. End-of-life patients typically struggle with constipation caused by the narcotics they are given to alleviate their pain, so doctors prescribe a stool softener called docusate twice a day to alleviate this uncomfortable problem. But new medical research from the University of Alberta shows this practice isn't effective in dealing with constipation in palliative-care settings. Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researchers Rick Spooner, Olga Szafran, Yoko Tarumi and Mitchell Wilson recently published their findings in the peer-reviewed Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Spooner and Szafran both work in the Department of Family Medicine, Tarumi works in the Department of Oncology and Wilson is a current medical student. Spooner says similar evidence published years ago suggested that patients in long-term care facilities didn't benefit from stool softeners, so many such facilities abandoned the practice. Spooner and his colleagues wanted to know whether the situation was similar for palliative-care patients.
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