A new study demonstrated that patients with cancer pain quickly recognize the symptoms of opioid-induced constipation (OIC), further emphasizing the important role clinician–patient communication plays in symptom treatment (J Pain Symptom Manage 2019 Dec 2. [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.11.021).
Japanese researchers from multiple facilities looked at two-week OIC outcomes in patients with cancer pain (n=212) on “strong opioid therapy”; OIC diagnosis was