Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · May 2001
Clinical TrialEffect of an enteric-release formulation of naloxone on intestinal transit in volunteers taking codeine.
Constipation is a common side-effect of opioid therapy; in addition to their analgesic effect, opioids reduce intestinal secretion and motility with an increase in whole-gut transit time. Naloxone, a specific opioid antagonist, reverses these effects but may also cause symptoms of opioid withdrawal in patients on long-term therapy. ⋯ The results show that the naloxone formulation counteracts the effect of codeine on intestinal transit, suggesting that it may have useful clinical applications.