The management of constipation in palliative medicine - recommendations of the Expert Working Group of the Polish Association for Palliative Medicine

These recommendations on the management of constipation in palliative medicine patients were elaborated based on a review of the available literature - PubMed and Medline databases were searched with the headings: "constipation", "opioid-induced constipation", "laxatives", "opioid receptor antagonists" and "palliative care". References to literature used for these recommendations are listed at the end of the paper. The authors' own experience and availability of drugs in Poland were taken into consideration when preparing these recommendations. Moreover, all authors were asked to judge each recommendation using the Delphi procedure. It should be emphasized that these recommendations are general and in each individual they should be adjusted according to the clinical condition and patients' needs.