This article describes the second update of a Cochrane review on the effectiveness of laxatives for the management of constipation in
people receiving palliative care. Previous versions were published in 2006 and 2010 where we also evaluated trials of methylnaltrexone;
these trials have been removed as they are included in another review in press. In these earlier versions, we drew no conclusions on
individual effectiveness of different laxatives because of the limited number of evaluations. This is despite constipation being common
in palliative care, generating considerable suffering due to the unpleasant physical symptoms and the availability of a wide range of
laxatives with known differences in effect in other populations.