TABLE 1.

Baseline characteristics of the children aged 8 to 18 years with functional constipation diagnosed by their general practitioner or pediatrician (n = 56)

Age median (IQR) in years	10.0 (8.3–12.0)
Gender (% girls)	57.1
Duration of symptoms (n), months
≤3	8/50
3–12	6/50
>12	36/50
Abdominal pain/discomfort in the previous 4 weeks (n)
Never	6/56
1–3 times a month	14/56
Once a week	7/56
Multiple times a week	21/56
Every day	8/56
FC symptoms (Rome-III criteria for FC) (n)
≤2 defecations in the toilet per week	14/56
Fecal incontinence ≥1 per week	16/56
Stool withholding	10/56
Painful or hard bowel movements	43/56
Large fecal mass in the abdomen or rectum	40/56
Large stools that obstruct the toilet	12/56
Use of laxatives in the previous 4 weeks (n)
Yes	32/47
No	15/47
Previous episodes of FC (n)
≥ 2	34/52
1	2/52
0	16/52

FC = functional constipation; IQR = interquartile range; n = number.