Conditions: Constipation
Keywords: constipation treatment fecal impaction pediatric
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 80
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine if milk and molasses enema or PEG 3350 works better for treatment of fecal impaction in children who are constipated.

Detailed description:
Constipation is a common condition in childhood and occurs without evidence of a pathological condition in most children. Symptoms range from decreased appetite to abdominal pain and constipation is frequently diagnosed in children evaluated in emergency departments. A general guideline for constipation treatment is fecal impaction removal before initiation of maintenance therapy. Disimpaction may be achieved using various oral therapies (e.g. including Polyethylene Glycol 3350 or PEG); however, rectal therapies, most commonly enemas, are frequently used, especially in the emergency/urgent care setting. The optimal treatment has not been established. There are no published randomized studies that compare effectiveness of oral versus rectal treatments.

Comparison: One milk and molasses enema given to the patient in the emergency department compared to three oral doses of PEG 3350 for relief of symptoms due to fecal impaction and constipation.

Arms:
arm 1: Rectal enema containing mixture of milk and molasses arm 2: Medication to be taken orally once each day for three consecutive days

Interventions: intervention 1: PEG 3350 intervention 2: milk and molasses enema
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: PEG 3350 1.5 gram/kg for disimpaction then 0.8 gram/kg for maintenance intervention 2: enema 10 cc/kg per rectum (max 500 cc)then PEG 3350 0.8 gram/kg for maintenance

Protocol document: