Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of three groups
| Characteristic | Liquid paraffin+Placebo | Synbiotics+Placebo | Liquid paraffin+Synbiotics | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of patients at randomization | 29 | 31 | 37 | |
| Mean age (yr) (±SD) | 6.9 (±2.4) | 6.2 (±1.9) | 5.9 (±2.2) | 0.191 |
| Sex, males (%) | 13 (44.8) | 15 (48.4%) | 18 (48.6%) | 0.945 |
| No. of patients with history of defecation frequency ≤2/week | 19 (65.5) | 17 (54.8%) | 28 (75.7%) | 0.195 |
| No. of patients with history of encopresis ≥1 | 10 (34.5) | 13 (41.9%) | 9 (24.3%) | 0.300 |
| Painful defecation (%) | 21 (72.4) | 20 (64.5) | 28 (75.7) | 0.590 |
| Abdominal pain (%) | 17 (58.6) | 21 (67.7) | 24 (64.9) | 0.754 |
| Hard stool consistency (%) | 25 (86.2) | 27 (87.1) | 32 (86.5) | 0.911 |
| Patients lost to follow-up | 3 | 2 | 0 |