Chronic constipation (CC) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders worldwide. Its pathogenesis, however, remains largely unclear. The purpose of the present work was to gain an insight into the role of contractility and microbiota in the etiology of CC. To this end, we studied spontaneous and evoked contractile activity of descending colon segments from patients that have undergone surgery for refractory forms of CC. The juxta-mucosal microbiota of these colon samples were characterized with culture-based and 16S rRNA sequencing techniques. In patients with CC the spontaneous colonic motility remained unchanged compared to the control group without dysfunction of intestinal motility. Moreover, contractions induced by potassium chloride and carbachol were increased in both circular and longitudinal colonic muscle strips, thus indicating preservation of contractile apparatus and increased sensitivity to cholinergic nerve stimulation in the constipated intestine. In the test group, the gut microbiota composition was assessed as being typically human, with four dominant bacterial phyla, namely Firmicutes , Bacteroidetes , Proteobacteria , and Actinobacteria , as well as usual representation of the most prevalent gut bacterial genera. Yet, significant inter-individual differences were revealed. The phylogenetic diversity of gut microbiota was not affected by age, sex, or colonic anatomy (dolichocolon, megacolon). The abundance of butyrate-producing genera Roseburia , Coprococcus , and Faecalibacterium was low, whereas conventional probiotic genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria were not decreased in the gut microbiomes of the constipated patients. As evidenced by our study, specific microbial biomarkers for constipation state are absent. The results point to a probable role played by the overall gut microbiota at the functional level. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive characterization of CC pathogenesis, finding lack of disruption of motor activity of colonic smooth muscle cells and insufficiency of particular members of gut microbiota usually implicated in CC.

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Aim. To determine the efficacy of brand new industrial synthetic material for surgical treatment of patients with complicated anal fistulae and advantages of its use for ligature method of chronic paraproctitis treatment. Methods. Between 2010 and 2017, 175 patients (average age 47 years) with extra- and transsphincteric fistula were treated with a ligature. The study group consisted of 67 patients treated with rubber seton, comparison group included 108 patients treated with nylon ligature. Results. The results of clinical use of two seton types for the treatment of rectal fistulae are presented. Rubber thread with circular section as seton was proved to be inexpensive and effective material, advantages of which result from its physical properties. Thus, dissection of muscle tissue due to rubber elasticity becomes more efficient due to the greater reserve of compression than in case of rigid nylon seton, and that reduces the number of contractions. In addition, physical properties of the material, such as its high surface wettability, offer good drainage, and homogeneity of the material not absorbing the fluids, in turn, provides avoidance of the «wick effect» with the spread of infection into the wound. So, the treatment of anorectal fistulae with ligature with the use of rubber seton demonstrates the best therapeutic results and is preferable for patients. Conclusion. Use of rubber seton in treatment of complicated anal fistulae allows reducing hospital stay, provides better drainage of the surgical wound, and reducing the number of complications and required contractions, thus, minimizing the associated pain syndrome.

The variety of etiological causes of chronic constipation requires an individual approach to diagnosis and treatment. Outdated views do not consider a detailed examination of patients with long-term constipation. Today, surgical interventions for refractory colonic constipation are used more and more often and have begun to demonstrate positive outcomes. The choice of surgical intervention largely depends on the results of the detected abnormality of the structure and location of the colon, as well as on the functional state of its various parts.