UPPER GASTROINTESTINAl MORPHOlOGICAl CHANGES AND GUT CONTAMINATION IN CHIUUIOOD CONSTIPATION

Abstract

Constipation IS a common problem in children worldwide. It occurs in up to 10% although only 3% actually seek medical advice. Parents and pediatricians often underestimate this problem and reaching the specialist only when it has already shown its complications 95%of constipated children have no obvious cause and hence the condition is labelled. idiopathic or functional constipation. In the remainder, constipation might be secondary to different organic disorders as Hirschsprung's disease, anal anomalies and metabolic or endocrinal disorders. Many researches focussed on theories to explain the aetiology of the idiopathic type, but a few researches discussed the possible complications of such constipation. As upper G.l. symptoms are of common occurrence in constipated children, it was hypothesized that dysmotility and delayed gastric emptying, which were reported in constipated patients, may predispose to gut contamination which in turn may lead to morphological and functional disturbances of the upper G.l. However, upper G.l. morphological changes, dysmotility . and gut contamination of the small intestine were not assessed before in constipated children. Hence the aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological changes in oesophagus, stomach and duodenum in constipated children through upper G.I. endoscopy. Another objective was to assess the orocecal transit time (OCTT) and gut contamination in such patients.