Background There has been no definitive systematic review and meta-analysis to date examining the effect of laxatives and pharmacological therapies in chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC).
Objective To assess efficacy of these therapies systematically in CIC.
Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane central register of controlled trials were searched (up to September 2010).