Eda Dolgun
Ege University, Turkey
Title: Development of follow-up protocol for constipated children and assessment of its effect on patient management
Biography
Biography: Eda Dolgun
Abstract
Objective: This study was designed to develop a functional constipation follow-up protocol and to assess its impact on patient management. Material and Methods: The sample of the study comprised of children who were referred to the Department of Pediatric Surgery with the complaint of functional constipation and its complications, and their families (n=26), all willing to participate to the study. The protocol was developed by discussing with specialist nurses and doctors. The children comprising the study sample were monitored according to the developed protocol. The children were assessed by using Rome III constipation criteria on the 1st and 12th month interviews. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in the Rome III criteria of two or fewer bowel movements per week, at least one episode of fecal incontinence per week, history of retentive habits or excess voluntary stool retention, history of painful or hard bowel movements, presence of a large fecal mass in the rectum, history of large calibre stools that may obstruct the toilet when the results of the 1st and 12th month interviews were compared. Conclusions: The results of the study revealed that regular care and monitoring have a positive impact on the treatment of children with functional constipation problem.