Colon Manometry Proves the Urge to Defecate is Present in Children With Functional Constipation Who Deny Sensation

the ROME III criteria for functional constipation and 15 were diagnosed with functional non-retentive fecal incontinence. Eight children (5.5%) had been previously diagnosed with an ASD. Fourteen out of 144 children (9.7%) had both SRS and SCQ-L scores above cutoff points, strongly suggestive for the presence of an ASD. Solely high SRS scores were present in 8 children (5.5%), whereas 4 children (2.8%) only scored above the cutoff point of the SCQ-L, being both suggestive for the presence of an ASD. Altogether, 18% of the participating children with functional defecation disorders had SRS and/or SCQ-L scores indicative for autism spectrum disorders. The mean age on which toilet training for stools was achieved in these children was significantly higher than in children with scores below cutoffs on both questionnaires (4.5 yrs vs. 3.4 yrs respectively, p-value 0.018). Conclusion These results show that a substantial amount (18%) of children presenting with functional defecation disorders at a tertiary hospital have concomitant symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. This percentage is much higher than the prevalence of ASDs in the general population and deserves further investigation. Screening for ASDs in children with functional defecation disorders seems feasible as ASDs in these children are frequently overlooked by clinicians and may give rise to a different therapeutic approach.