VIDEO: More effective treatments needed for chronic idiopathic constipation

PHILADELPHIA — In this exclusive video from the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting, Mike Nedham, product strategy lead for GI at Shire, discusses a survey the company conducted that he said revealed a need for more treatments for chronic idiopathic constipation.

“More than 70% of the patients who were interviewed said that [chronic idiopathic constipation] has, still, a really significant impact on their overall quality of life on a daily basis,” Nedham told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. “Many of the patients commented that despite the OTC and prescription therapies that they had available, they were still having a lot of problems with their symptoms.”

Nedham said some patients even reported that they would rather deal with the symptoms than the adverse effects of the treatments they were using.

The survey also included responses from gastroenterologists from across the United States.

“More than 80% of them said, actually, they would really like to have additional treatment options available for treating these difficult symptoms with these patients,” Nedham said.

Disclosure: Nedham reports he is employed by Shire.