September 10, 2024 — The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) has issued updated guidelines, published in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum , about how to evaluate and manage chronic constipation . The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer .
"The complex etiology and variable severity of constipation symptoms mandate an individualized approach to evaluation and treatment," write senior author Ian M. Paquette, MD, of the University of Cincinnati, and his colleagues on the ASCRS Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee. After reviewing 134 English-language studies of adults published between January 1, 2014 and February 1, 2024, they developed 13 recommendations.
Strong recommendations
Each recommendation in the new guidelines is labeled "strong" or "conditional" using the GRADE system for evaluating the certainty of evidence in medical literature. The 6 strong recommendations are:
Conditional recommendations
The guidelines also include 7 conditional recommendations:
"Given the range of specialties that manage constipation, a collaborative approach is often warranted to achieve optimal patient outcomes," the guidelines committee emphasizes.
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Diseases of the Colon & Rectum
The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Constipation
10-Sep-2024