Patients’ Baseline Characteristics
| Clinical characteristics | Lactulose (n = 69) | Combination (n = 68) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 33 (47.8) | 24 (35.3) | 29 (58.0) | 0.047 |
| Female | 36 (52.2) | 44 (64.7) | 21 (42.0) | |
| Age (mo) | 42.3 ± 23.7 | 44.4 ± 23.6 | 38.6 ± 23.7 | 0.176 |
| Disease duration (mo) | 11.4 ± 11.3 | 7.6 ± 9.4 | 9.1 ± 11.2 | 0.109 |
| Previous use of laxatives | 9 (13.2) | 17 (25.0) | 7 (14.0) | 0.178 |
| Previous use of probiotics | 27 (39.1) | 28 (41.2) | 21 (42.0) | 0.970 |
| Stool frequency/week | 2.7 ± 1.8 | 2.9 ± 2.7 | 2.7 ± 2.2 | 0.883 |
| Incontinency/week | 1.2 ± 6.0 | 0.9 ± 3.0 | 3.0 ± 8.7 | 0.153 |
| Stool consistency | 1.7 ± 0.7 | 1.6 ± 0.8 | 1.9 ± 0.8 | 0.055 |
| Painful defecation | 66 (95.7) | 63 (92.6) | 49 (98.0) | 0.396 |
| Painful defecation/week | 2.6 ± 1.8 | 2.3 ± 2.6 | 2.1 ± 1.3 | 0.484 |
aGender differences was observed between combination therapy group and
Values are shown as n (%) or mean ± SD.