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Constipation - Background information
Constipation

  • Constipation is defecation that is unsatisfactory because of infrequent stools, difficult stool passage, or seemingly incomplete defecation. Stools are often dry and hard, and may be abnormally large or abnormally small.
    • This definition of constipation is subjective, as different people have different views about what is infrequent, difficult, dry, hard, abnormally large, or abnormally small. In the clinical consultation, if a person continues to complain about constipation after a discussion of what is normal and what is abnormal (especially with respect to frequency), they are asking for help in managing their problem.
    • Because different definitions of constipation are in use, attempts continue to be made to develop and agree more objective criteria for the definition of functional constipation, most notably by the Rome criteria [Hyman et al, 2006; Longstreth et al, 2006; Rasquin et al, 2006], and the Paris consensus on childhood constipation terminology (PACCT) [Boccia et al, 2007]. However, these efforts are only slowly finding their way into clinical research and practice. For example, a recent US guideline regards constipation as a symptom-based disorder with unsatisfactory defecation (i.e. infrequent stools, difficult stool passage, or both) [American College of Gastroenterology Chronic Constipation Task Force, 2005].
    • Constipation is perhaps most conveniently thought of as a symptom. In contrast, functional constipation and secondary constipation are disorders.

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