Background: Constipation is a worldwide problem among children. Functional constipation (FC) is the most common type of chronic constipation in children comprising 95% of them.Objectives: To study the socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors of FC in children. Method:This was a single centre, case-control study; 165 patients, ages ranging from early infancy to 17 years, who were suffering from FC were recruited for six months and they were age and sexmatched with 165 healthy controls. Using a questionnaire, data were gathered from those individuals and their caregivers regarding sociodemographic characteristics, dietary history, psychological insults, family history and socioeconomic status. All patients were examined abdominally and rectally.Results: Mean age of patients under study was 3.7 ± 3.3 years, and males were more affected than females. The male to female ratio was 2.3:1. The mean age at onset of the development of constipation among our cohort was 2.3 years. Male gender, prematurity, low birth weight, formula feeding during infancy, low fibre diet, positive family history of constipation, low socioeconomic status and illiteracy of the mother were all risk factors of FC and the association was highly significant. There was no association between type of residency or bodyweight with risk of FC. Fear of using the toilet was the most common underlying psychological insult. Hard stool was the most frequent presentation of our cohort followed by _________________________________________

Background: Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a rare inborn error of metabolism of branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine. It is characterized by neurodevelopmental disorders, encephalopathy, and a maple syrup odour in the urine. Objectives: To describe the clinical profile and presentations of MSUD at Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Iraq. Method: A descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study included patients with MSUD who were registered at Children Welfare Teaching Hospital in Iraq from February 2014 to November 2020. Patients were reviewed regarding their clinical, laboratory and socio-demographic history.Results: Forty patients who registered as MSUD were included in the study. Of them 19 were male and 21 were female. The median age of the first manifestation was 5.5 months, while the median age of the first diagnosis was 12 months. Parental consanguinity was seen in 87.5% of cases. Hypotonia, seizures and poor response were the common presenting symptoms of MSUD, while spasticity, global developmental delay, intellectual disability and speech delay were the common complications. Due to early diagnosis and dietary restrictions, cognitive function was normal in only two patients. Serum branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) especially serum leucine level, was reported high among all cases at the time of diagnosis.