Evaluation of Management of Functional Constipation in Children among South Indian Population – Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Functional constipation is a common bowel disorder in the communitywhich affects one in six children. The overall prevalence of constipation was 14.7%and 4.6% for FC while only 1.8% of respondents reported laxative use every day.The aim of this study is to evaluate the current trend of diagnosing and treatment of functional constipation among children. After getting informed consent, we reviewed the prescription of these patients, and data was collected using a semi-structured pre-validated questionnaire. Data were entered in Microsoft excel 2010 and statistical analyses were done using SPSS 17. The total number of cases included in the study was 138. Of which majority of cases are in the age group of below 5 years with a female preponderance. Almost all the cases reported laxatives use for the relief of constipation along with few dietary modifications. Lactulose and PEG played a major role in FC.Dietary habits and physical activity also played an important role as FC children reported low fruit and vegetable consumption, high fast-food consumption, and low levels of physical activity.