Laxatives in Geriatric Practice: From Preoperative Bowel Preparation to Correction of Chronic Constipation

Abstract

The first part of  the article discusses the issues of  preoperative bowel preparation in  older and oldest-old patients, with a  particular emphasis on  the safest drugs. The second part of  the article presents the problem of  chronic constipation as a geriatric syndrome, including a description of age-associated changes in the structure and function of colon, causes of constipation and features of correction in geriatric practice.