Solution for Severe Constipation

For severe constipation in hospitalized patients who do not have bowel obstruction or stool impaction and who have not responded to routine oral laxatives, suppositories, or sodium phosphate enemas, try a lactulose enema. Mix 150 to 300 mL of lactulose with an equal volume of saline solution. This preparation is safe, and the response is usually immediate.
—Fadi I. Jabr, MD
  Florence, Ore