Diagnosis of Constipation in Children

Abstract

Constipation is a frequent reason for consulting a pediatrician. As a symptom, constipation can be due to various etiologies in terms of frequency, nature and seriousness. Constipation may be of medical or surgical origin or idiopathic. Surgical etiologies are mainly represented by Hirschsprung’s disease. It is the main differential diagnosis even if it is 50 times less frequent than idiopathic or functional constipation. A thorough history and physical examination, including anal examination, are the best way to reach a diagnosis. No other examination is required in most of the cases and all investigations have to be managed according to clinical considerations.

No association between severe constipation with related drug treatment in pregnant women and congenital abnormalities in their offspring: A population‐based case‐control study

“…For example ‘Any patient who strains to defecate and does not pass at least one stool daily without effort is constipated’ (Painter 1980) or another extreme definition was ‘everyone should have at least one bowel movement a week’ (Owen 1983). Recently, constipation has been defined by a frequency of spontaneous stools of less than two per week or three per week (Sauvat 2007). According to a study conducted by Drossman et al.…”

The association between constipation and subsequent risk of atopic dermatitis in children: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…From the questionnaire, we obtained data regarding constipation at 1 year of age. Constipation in young children is mostly functional constipation [16], which is often diagnosed by the ROME criteria when, two or more of the six questions in the questionnaire are satisfactorily answered [17,18]. In the JECS questionnaire, there are only two sequential questions on constipation for the age of 1 year of age, "does your child poop almost every day?…”