Etiology of chronic constipation and related causes in children referred to Boo-Ali Sina Hospital in Sari between 2006 and 2007

Constipation is a common elimination dysfunction in children which covers more than 3 % of outpatient's visits to pediatrists. The etiology of functional constipation is not clear in most cases. This study focused on the evaluation of the etiology of constipation in pediatric patients who referred to department of pediatric Gastroenterology at Boo-ali Sina hospital in Sari during 2006-2007. In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, children with clinical manifestations of chronic constipation who had been referred to Boo-Ali Sina hospital were assessed. Inclusion criteria were age under 15 years, and being constipated for more than 2 weeks. Children with a history of using antispasmodic drugs for a long time or pervious history of surgical procedure were excluded from the study. The patients were assessed as regards the causes of functional and organic constipation. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS software. Two-hundred and fifty children aged between 1 month and 15 years (mean age 50.62±15 months) were studied. One-hundred and forty (56%) were males. The most common cause of constipation was functional constipation in 195 (78%) cases but organic constipation was diagnosed in 39 cases (15.6%). The most common cause of constipation was Hirschsprung's disease in patients under one year, and functional causes in older patients. There were no significant differences between the two sexes regarding the causes of constipation. The results of this study showed that the most common cause of constipation in under-one year olds was organic defect; whereas the most common cause of constipation in older children was functional defect. Organic causes of constipation must be taken into account in cases of early onset of the disorder.