Functional constipation in pediatric patients: an observational study in southern Brazil

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Clinical Epidemiology
• Child Health Outcomes

Background:

• Functional constipation (FC) presents with symptoms like hardened stools, abdominal discomfort, and fecal incontinence, impacting children's quality of life and psychosocial well-being.
• FC is a common condition in pediatric gastroenterology settings, necessitating a thorough understanding of its various aspects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of functional constipation in pediatric patients.
• To analyze treatment outcomes and identify key factors influencing patient management in a specialized clinic.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, quantitative, observational study utilizing secondary data from medical records of pediatric gastroenterology patients (2018-2023).
• Evaluation of sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables in 67 children (0-18 years) diagnosed with Functional Constipation (ICD K590).
• Data analysis employed descriptive statistics using SPSS v.25.0, following approval by the Human Research Ethics Committee (Unesc).

Main Results:

• The study population was predominantly female (53.7%) with a mean age at diagnosis of 7.75 years.
• Key symptoms included abdominal pain (77.6%) and hardened stools (62.7%), with an average 4-day interval between bowel movements.
• Macrogol was the primary treatment (89.6%), leading to complete symptom improvement in 73.1% of patients.

Conclusions:

• Functional constipation in children exhibits diverse clinical presentations requiring individualized management.
• Effective treatment, particularly with macrogol, can significantly improve symptoms, but ongoing monitoring is essential.
• Understanding epidemiological and clinical patterns aids in developing targeted interventions for pediatric functional constipation.