Constipation in children in Lome (Togo): Etiologies and clinical characteristics

Etiologic and clinical data from 54 pediatric cases of constipation managed over a one-year period (1997) at the Teaching Hospital in Lome, Togo, were reviewed. A careful medical history, a physical examination, a plain film of the abdomen, and a barium study provided fairly good diagnostic orientat ion, despite the unavailability of more sophisticated investigations such a s anorectal manometry and radioopaque marker transit time measurement. Poor general health, growth failure, and abdominal distension were significantl y more common in the patients with organic than with functional constipatio n. Most cases were functional, the leading cause being an inadequate diet ( 65.8 % of cases).