Doctors are wary of prescribing Lotronex as a therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) despite the drug’s significant advantages over current and emerging therapies, a new report has found.
The report by Decision Resources shows that doctors are reluctant to prescribe Lotronex because of side effects linked to constipation, which in rare cases have led to blood transfusion, hospitalisation, surgery and even death.
Surveyed primary care physicians said that the therapy’s effect on overall IBS symptoms is the attribute that most influences their prescribing decisions in non-constipation predominant IBS.
The report also identifies Tioga / Ono’s asimadoline as the leading non-constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome treatment, following the launch of asimadoline in 2013.
Lotronex is indicated for women with severe IBS, whose main problem is diarrhoea and who have not been helped by other treatments.
