Objectives: The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition has formulated guidelines for managing functional constipation. There have been no studies that have investigated how pediatricians apply the constipation guideline since it was revised in 2006. The purpose of this study was to examine how pediatricians approach functional constipation and how closely their approaches adhere to the guidelines.
Methods: An anonymous multiple-choice questionnaire was developed by general pediatricians and pediatric gastroenterologists. This was distributed to pediatricians and pediatric residents at 7 academic institutions, and to the American Academy of Pediatrics section on medical students, residents, and fellowship trainees mailing list.
Results: A total of 1202 responses were received (952 trainees, 250 attendings). Of these, 84.3% reported being unfamiliar/slightly familiar with the guidelines. The most common initial interventions for constipation without fecal incontinence included fluids (92.1%), fiber (89.5%), juice (77.7%), behavioral interventions (71.2%), follow-up (53.4%), and reducing constipating foods (50.1%). The most common initial interventions for constipation with fecal incontinence included bowel cleanout (73.4%), maintenance medication (70.0%), fluids (67.9%), behavioral interventions (67.6%), fiber (66.1%), and follow-up (57.8%). Osmotics were the most commonly prescribed as needed (83.0%) and maintenance medications (96.8%), with stimulants prescribed PRN by 35.6% and as maintenance by 16.8%. Some individuals (39.7%) reported concern that osmotics could result in dependence, addiction, or electrolyte imbalances, compared with 73.0% for stimulants.
Conclusions: Our results show that more education regarding medication in functional constipation is necessary, including the use of medication reducing time to remission, the necessity of disimpaction, and misconceptions regarding adverse effects.