Table 3 Most common reasons for 211 GPs not to co-prescribe a laxative with an opioid in total and for GPs scoring in the highest and lowest quartile of adherence
% of GPs with reason in top-3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Reason not to adhere to recommendation | All GPs (n = 211) | Score in lowest quartile of guideline adherence (n = 29)a | Score in highest quartile of guideline adherence (n = 25)a |
Patient still has laxative | 58.8 | 69.0 | 72.0 |
Patient does not want laxative | 44.6 | 34.5 | 36.0 |
Contra-indication of laxative use | 39.8 | 51.7 | 48.0 |
Patient cannot take laxative (e.g. palliative phase) | 33.7 | 31.0 | 40.0 |
Intermitted opioid use (when needed) | 28.0 | 24.1 | 32.0 |
Acute opioid use (e.g. transportation to ER) | 22.3 | 24.1 | 20.0 |
GP will prescribe laxative later, if necessary | 17.5 | 13.8 | 24.0 |
Patient will use over the counter laxative to prevent constipation | 12.3 | 6.9 | 4.0 |
Very low dose of opioid | 9.5 | 20.7 | 4.0 |
Adverse events of laxative | 7.6 | 3.5 | 8.0 |