Current Practice Constipation in children: diagnosis and management

Abstract

Constipation is a common gastrointestinal disorder in children and adolescents accounting for a significant healthcare burden. Clinical spectrum ranges from mild constipation that resolves spontaneously to chronic treatment resistant constipation with devastating physical and psychosocial consequences. This article provides clinicians with a current concise review of diagnostic and management strategies of constipation. Definitions Constipation had been a difficult condition to diagnose due to a lack of uniform diagnostic criteria. It was often perceived as a symptom rather than a disorder. Therefore many researchers an