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Pharmacists should ask people discharged into the community following surgery for hip fractures whether they are having any problems with constipation, a Danish study suggests.

Researchers interviewed 106 patients with hip fracture on admission and then re-interviewed 97 patients on the day of discharge and 75 patients 30 days after surgery. At admission, 17 per cent of patients reported dry and hard stools, increasing to 24 per cent at discharge and 35 per cent after 30 days. Fifty-two, 69 and 63 per cent of patients respectively complained of prolonged and difficult evacuation.

Patients first defecated, on average, 3.2 days after surgery, although this ranged from one to nine days. On average, normal defecation returned 9.5 days after surgery. However, 23 per cent of patients did not re-establish normal defecation within the first 30 days after surgery. (Internal Journal of Nursing Practice doi:10.1111/inj.12312).