| Abstrakt: |
Background: Functional gastrointestinal disorders account for at least a third of visits togastroenterology clinics. Despite pathophysiological complexity, impaired gut motility may be frequentlypresent in these disorders. Introduction: Prokinetics are a class of drugs that promote gastrointestinal motility, accelerate transit,and potentially improve digestive symptoms. Several prokinetic agents with a great variety of mechanismsof action are available. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to update our current knowledge about the efficacy and safety of prokinetics.Methods: A literature search on efficacy and safety of prokinetics was carried out using the online databasesof Pubmed, Medline, and Cochrane. Results: Based on the action of different receptors, prokinetics mainly comprise dopamine antagonists,5HT4 agonists, motilin agonists, ghrelin agonists, and cholinergic agonists. Prokinetics have thepotential to improve motility function in all segments of the digestive tract, from the esophagus to thecolon. In particular, drug international agencies have approved antidopaminergic metoclopramide forthe treatment of gastroparesis and serotoninergic prucalopride for chronic constipation not responsiveto traditional laxatives. Arrhythmias by QT prolongation and galactorrhea by prolactin stimulation arethe more frequent side effects related to prokinetics use. Conclusion: Old and new prokinetics are effective in ameliorating digestive motility disorders and relatedsymptoms and are widely prescribed. Special attention should be paid to the potential adverseevents of these agents. |
