Laxatives with polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350 can counteract starch-based thickeners that nurses often use to help patients with dysphagia, a study has found.
Researchers at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, reported on the case of an elderly man in a nursing home who had become constipated after drinking nectar-thickened apple juice. The starchy thickener had been included to increase the viscosity of the juice to make it easier for the man to swallow.
When the nurse added a dose of PEG