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Acute and chronic constipation together accounted for nearly half of all cases of acute abdominal pain in children treated at one hospital, a study found.

The research was held by a University of Iowa researcher, to help showing that constipation frequently causes acute abdominal pain and that a physician should not just ask the parent if the child is constipated because the parent may have not been able to see all the signs of this condition.

Earlier studies have shown that constipation can contribute to abdominal pain in children, but no specific recommendations for diagnosing this contributing factor were made. Some doctors shy away from the rectal examination, which involves digitally checking for impacted stool in the lower colon, because they believe it may cause a child mental or physical discomfort. In fact, it’s important for doctors to do a thorough evaluation for abdominal pain, as there are many causes.

The study suggests that physicians should do a simple rectal examination for constipation when trying to determine the cause of abdominal pain in children.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Iowa.

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