Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. Jun 5, 2025; 16(2): 105801
Published online Jun 5, 2025. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i2.105801
Efficacy of elobixibat for elderly patients with chronic constipation in a clinic
Yuji Sakai, Toshio Tsuyuguchi, Junichiro Kumagai, Hiroshi Ohyama, Takashi Kaiho, Masayuki Ohtsuka, Naoya Kato
Yuji Sakai, Department of Gastroenterology, Sakai Clinic, Kimistu 299-1162, Japan
Yuji Sakai, Hiroshi Ohyama, Naoya Kato, Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan
Toshio Tsuyuguchi, Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba Prefectural Sawara Hospital, Sawara 287-0003, Japan
Junichiro Kumagai, Department of Gastroenterology, Kimitsu Central Hospital, Kisarazu 292-8535, Japan
Takashi Kaiho, Department of Surgery, Kimitsu Chuo Hospital, Kisarazu 292-8535, Japan
Masayuki Ohtsuka, Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8677, Japan
Author contributions: Sakai Y wrote the paper; Sakai Y, Tsuyuguchi T, Ohtsuka M, and Kato N were responsible for the manuscript preparation; Tsuyuguchi T and Ohtsuka M revised the manuscript; Kumagai J, Ohyama H, and Kaiho T collected the references; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Institutional review board statement: A study at this clinic was conducted after obtaining approval from all patients about the use of data. We requested the institutional review board at Kimitsu Central Hospital to review data and obtained their approval (institutional review board No. 802).
Informed consent statement: To determine the long-term prognosis, we confirmed the prognosis by directly calling the patient and the transportation hospitals in addition to obtaining information from the outpatient clinic.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yuji Sakai, Department of Gastroenterology, Sakai Clinic, 9-18-8 Minamikoyasu, Kimistu 299-1162, Japan. sakai4754@yahoo.co.jp
Received: February 7, 2025
Revised: March 7, 2025
Accepted: April 1, 2025
Published online: June 5, 2025
Processing time: 116 Days and 12.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Elobixibat reportedly improves bowel movements in patients with chronic constipation. However, its effect on bowel movements in elderly patients with chronic constipation in clinical settings has not been examined.

AIM

To examine bowel movement frequency and stool form before and after elobixibat administration in elderly patients with chronic constipation at our clinic.

METHODS

A total of 10 mg elobixibat was administered to 35 (< 65 years old) patients and 45 (≥ 65 years old) patients with chronic constipation. The frequency of bowel movements and stool forms, assessed using the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS), were compared between the two groups 1 week before and after elobixibat administration.

RESULTS

In patients aged < 65 years with chronic constipation, the pre-elobixibat frequency of bowel movements and BSFS scores were 2.167 ± 0.732 and 2.286 ± 0.742, respectively. After elobixibat administration, the frequency of bowel movements and BSFS scores improved to 2.389 ± 0.502 and 3.995 ± 0.566, respectively, showing a significant improvement in bowel movement status. In patients aged ≥ 65 years with chronic constipation, the pre-elobixibat frequency of bowel movements and BSFS scores were 2.003 ± 0.733 and 2.217 ± 0.758, respectively. After elobixibat administration, the frequency of bowel movements and BSFS scores improved to 4.402 ± 1.346 and 3.800 ± 0.704, respectively, indicating an improvement in bowel movement status (P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the frequency and improvement status of bowel movements or BSFS scores between patients with chronic constipation aged ≥ 65 years and < 65 years. Adverse events due to the administration of elobixibat occurred in 16 cases (20%). No significant differences were found in the incidence of adverse events between patients with chronic constipation aged < 65 years (8 cases, 22.9%) and those aged ≥ 65 years (8 cases, 17.8%).

CONCLUSION

Elobixibat is effective in improving bowel movement status in patients with chronic constipation. No significant differences were found in the improvement of bowel movement status or the incidence of adverse events between patients with chronic constipation aged < 65 years and ≥ 65 years, suggesting that the drug may be safely used in elderly patients.

Keywords: Bile acid; Elderly patients; Elobixibat; Chronic constipation; Post cholecystectomy; Constipation

Core Tip: Elobixibat was effective in improving bowel movements in patients with chronic constipation. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in treatment efficacy or incidence of adverse events between elderly patients and younger patients with chronic constipation. With its high clinical efficacy in treating chronic constipation in elderly patients and its low incidence of adverse events, elobixibat appears to be a viable treatment option for elderly patients.