To systematically revise the literature in search of data about the prevalence of constipation in patients with cystic fibrosis according to the publications in this field, which partly refer to guidelines defined in 2010 by the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
Systematic review selecting articles based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, including Cystic Fibrosis patients of all ages. Sources of information were selected to identify the articles without period limitation: CADTH - Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, CINAHL Complete, Clinical Trials US NIH, Cochrane Library, Embase, MEDLINE via Ovid, Scopus, Web Of Science, PubMed, SciELO, MEDLINE and LILACS , Health Systems Evidence, PDQ Evidence, CRD Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, INAHTA - International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment, and PEDro.
The prevalence of constipation was reported in eight observational studies. Only two studies assessed the frequency of constipation as a primary objective; in the others, constipation was quoted along with the prevalence of the spectrum of gastrointestinal manifestations. Altogether, the publications included 2,018 patients, the reported prevalence varied from 10% to 57%. Only two of the six articles published after 2010 followed the definition recommended by the European Society.
Constipation is a frequent but still insufficiently assessed complaint of Cystic Fibrosis patients. The use of diverse diagnostic criteria restricts comparison and epidemiological conclusions, future studies should compulsorily apply the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition definition.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and presentation of bladder, bowel, and combined bladder and bowel symptoms experienced by children with osteogenesis imperfecta and to describe the socio-demographic and clinical profile of these children.
METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted with a convenience sample of parent-child pairs of toilet-trained children aged from 3 to 18 years. Pairs were interviewed using three tools: (1) Socio-Demographic and Clinical Questionnaire; (2) Dysfunctional Voiding Scoring System; (3) Rome III Criteria along with the Bristol Stool Scale. Data were stratified by socio-demographic and clinical variables and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Thirty-one parent-child pairs participated in the study; 38.7% (n=12) children reported bowel symptoms, 19.4% (n=6) reported a combination of bladder issues (such as holding maneuvers and urgency) and bowel symptoms (such as hard or painful bowel movements and large diameter stools). There were no reports of isolated bladder issues. Among the child participants, 16 (51.7%) identified as female and 20 (64.5%) were 5-14 years old. The most prevalent type of osteogenesis imperfecta was type III (n=12; 38.7%) and eight (25.8%) children reported using a wheelchair.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to examine the prevalence and presentation of bladder, bowel, and combined bladder and bowel symptoms in children with osteogenesis imperfecta, offering a preliminary socio-demographic and clinical profile of these children. This research is an important step toward effective screening, detection, and access to care and treatment, especially for clinicians working with this group of very fragile patients.

OBJECTIVE: To translate and culturally adapt the modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children into Brazilian Portuguese, and to evaluate the reproducibility of the translated version.
METHODS: The stage of translation and cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to an internationally accepted methodology, including the translation, back-translation, and pretest application of the translated version to a sample of 74 children to evaluate the degree of understanding. The reproducibility of the translated scale was assessed by applying the final version of Brazilian Portuguese modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children to a sample of 64 children and 25 healthcare professionals, who were asked to correlate a randomly selected description from the translated scale with the corresponding representative illustration of the stool type.
RESULTS: The final version of Brazilian Portuguese modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children were evidently reproducible, since almost complete agreement (k>0,8) was obtained among the translated descriptions and illustrations of the stool types, both among the children and the group of specialists. The Brazilian Portuguese modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children was shown to be reliable in providing very similar results for the same respondents at different times and for different examiners.
CONCLUSIONS: The Brazilian Portuguese modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children is reproducible; it can be applied in clinical practice and in scientific research in Brazil.

To gather current evidence on the use of fiber for constipation treatment in pediatric patients.
Systematic review with meta-analysis of studies identified through Pubmed, Embase, LILACS and Cochrane databases published up to 2016.
Randomized controlled trials; patients aged between 1 and 18 years and diagnosed with functional constipation receiving or not drug treatment for constipation; articles published in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and German in journals accessible to the researchers.
A total of 2963 articles were retrieved during the search and, after adequate evaluation, nine articles were considered relevant to the study objective. A total of 680 children were included, of whom 45% were boys. No statistical significance was observed for bowel movement frequency, stool consistency, therapeutic success, fecal incontinence, and abdominal pain with fiber intake in patients with childhood constipation. These results should be interpreted with care due to the high clinical heterogeneity between the studies and the methodological limitation of the articles selected for analysis.
There is a scarcity of qualified studies to evaluate fiber supplementation in the treatment of childhood constipation, generating a low degree of confidence in estimating the real effect of this intervention on this population. Today, according to the current literature, adequate fiber intake should only be recommended for functional constipation, and fiber supplementation should not be prescribed in the diet of constipated children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effect of combinations of green banana biomass and laxatives in children and adolescents with chronic constipation.
METHODS: This was a randomized study of 80 children and adolescents with functional constipation according to the Rome IV Criteria, who were divided into five groups: (1) green banana biomass alone; (2) green banana biomass plus PEG 3350 with electrolytes; (3) green banana biomass plus sodium picosulfate; (4) PEG 3350 with electrolytes alone; and (5) sodium picosulfate alone. Primary outcome measure was the reduction of the proportion of patients with Bristol Stool Form Scale ratings 1 or 2. Secondary outcome measures were: increase of the proportion of >3 bowel movements/week and reduction of the proportion of fecal incontinence, straining on defecation, painful defecation, blood in stool, abdominal pain, and decreased laxative doses.
RESULTS: On consumption of green banana biomass alone, a statistically significant reduction was observed in the proportion of children with Bristol Stool Form Scale rating 1 or 2, straining on defecation, painful defecation, and abdominal pain. Conversely, no reduction was observed in fecal incontinence episodes/week, blood in stool, and no increase was observed in the proportion of children with >3 bowel movements/week. The percentage of children who required decreased laxative dose was high when green banana biomass was associated with sodium picosulfate (87%), and PEG 3350 with electrolytes (63%). Green banana biomass alone and associated with laxatives was well tolerated, and no adverse effects were reported.
CONCLUSIONS: Green banana biomass is advantageous as an adjunct therapy on functional constipation, mainly for reducing doses of laxatives.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess clinical features and colonic transit patterns in Brazilian children with refractory constipation.
METHODS: From 2010 to 2013, 79 constipated patients received follow-up care in a tertiary hospital. Of these patients, 28 (aged 8-14 years) were refractory to conventional therapy and underwent a simplified visual method of nuclear colonic transit study, by ingestion of a liquid meal containing 9.25 MBq/kg of (99m)Tc-phytate. Abdominal static images were taken immediately and at two, six, 24, 30, and 48h after ingestion for qualitative analysis of the radio marker progression through the colon.
RESULTS: Two patterns of colonic transit were found: slow colonic transit (SCT, n=14), when images at 48h showed a larger part of the tracer remained in proximal and transverse colon, and distal retention (DR, n=14), when after 30h, the radio isotope passed the transverse colon and was retained in the rectosigmoid up to 48h. The SCT and DR group included, respectively, nine and ten males; median ages in the nuclear study of 11 and 10 years, p=0.207; median duration of constipation of seven and six years, p=0.599. Constipation appearing during first year age (p=0.04) and report of soft stools (p=0.02) were more common in SCT patients. Palpable abdominal fecal impaction was found only in DR group. Appendicostomy for antegrade continence enema was successful in 4/12 (30%) of SCT patients (median follow-up: 2.4 years).
CONCLUSIONS: Nuclear transit study distinguished two colonic dysmotility patterns and was useful for guiding refractory patients to specific therapies.