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Assessment of stool frequency and colonic transit time in Indian children with functional constipation and healthy controls

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Abstract

Introduction

Indian adults have higher stool frequency and shorter colonic transit time compared to the Western population. Colonic transit time has not been studied well in Indian children. We aimed to compare colonic transit time in normal and constipated children.

Methods

In this prospective study, stool characteristics and colonic transit time by radio-opaque markers were studied in healthy children (group A, n = 39) and functional constipation patients (group B, n = 61). Twenty radio-opaque markers were ingested per orally at 0, 12, and 24 h followed by a single abdominal X-ray at 36 h. Total and segmental colonic transit times were calculated using the standard formula.

Results

Stool frequency per week and consistency were significantly different between group A (9 [2.5–17] years) vs. group B (4.5 [2–14] years), 7 (7–14) vs.1 (1–2), and Bristol type 4 (3–5) vs. type 2 (1–3). Total colonic transit time of groups A and B was 16.2 (0.6–36) vs. 22.8 (1.8–35.4) hours; p = 0.003. Ninety-fifth percentile (upper limit of normal) cutoff derived from group A was 31.8 h. Ninety-two percent of group B had colonic transit < 95th percentile of normal healthy children. Despite 8% with colonic transit > 95th percentile, all group B patients responded well to standard therapy with laxatives.

Conclusion

Indian children have significantly higher stool frequency and shorter colonic transit time, which are different compared to the reported figures from the West. Most of the Indian children with functional constipation had normal colonic transit time.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the children who helped us conduct this study by volunteering to participate in the study.

Funding

The study received an intramural financial grant from our institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rae Bareli Road, Lucknow, 226 014, India

    Upender Shava, Surender Kumar Yachha, Anshu Srivastava, Ujjal Poddar & Moinak Sen Sarma

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  1. Upender Shava
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  2. Surender Kumar Yachha
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  3. Anshu Srivastava
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  4. Ujjal Poddar
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  5. Moinak Sen Sarma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Surender Kumar Yachha.

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Conflict of interest

US, SKY, AS, UP, and MSS declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

The authors declare that the study was performed in a manner conforming to the Helsinki declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 and 2008 concerning human and animal rights, and the authors followed the policy concerning informed consent as shown on Springer.com.

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Shava, U., Yachha, S.K., Srivastava, A. et al. Assessment of stool frequency and colonic transit time in Indian children with functional constipation and healthy controls. Indian J Gastroenterol 37, 410–415 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-018-0902-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-018-0902-5

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