Constipation and Laxative Use among Nursing Home Patients: Prevalence and Associations Derived from the Residents Assessment Instrument for Long-Term Care Facilities (interRAI LTCF)

Table 3

Use of laxatives among patients, .

Laxative type	Patients using; laxatives, (%)
Use of laxatives as prescribed in the patients record
Laxatives regularly^1 and on demand^1	187 (71.7)
Laxatives regularly only	175 (67.1)
(i) Stimulant laxative (A06A B)^2	87 (33.3)
(ii) Osmotic laxatives (A06A D)	143 (54.8)
(iii) Softening laxatives (A06A A)	1 (0.4)
(iv) Microenema (A06AG02 or A06AG11)	4 (1.5)
(v) Bulk laxatives (A06A C)	0 (0)
(vi) Oil enema (A06AG04)	0 (0)
(vii) Minienema (A06AG10)	0 (0)
Use of enemas as reported by nurses
(i) Microenema (A06AG02 or A06AG11)	78 (30.0)
(ii) Oil enema (A06AG04)	10 (3.9)
(iii) Minienema (A06AG10)	6 (2.3)
Number of laxatives per patient^3
0	76 (29.1)
1	88 (33.7)
2	58 (22.2)
3	35 (13.4)
4	4 (1.5)

Regular use and on demand as prescribed in the patient record.
²Laxatives are grouped according to the Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical Classification System (ATC).
³Reported as regular use in the patient record together with the use of microenemas, oil enemas, and minienemas as reported by nurses.