Constipation Can Be Deadly: How to prevent this serious complication in the elderly.

This article reviews two cases where severe constipation was an important factor in the patients' deaths. In the elderly, constipation can present not only with mechanical complications, such as perforation and obstruction, but with delirium and failure to thrive as well. Treatment must be aggressive and should include measures to prevent recurrence. Drugs, particularly narcotic analgesics, are important factors in the genesis of severe constipation.