Clinical significance of functional constipation categorized by colonic transit time and pelvic floor electromyography.

Objective: Functional constipation (FC) is a common gastrointestinal disorder, the incidence of which is increasing each year with the changes in life style and diet, and the age of patients is becoming younger. Correct categorization will guide the treatment of FC and in the present study colonic transit time (CTT) and pelvic floor electromyography (PFE) were evaluated for their clinical significance in categorizing FC.

Methods: Thirty-two cases of FC diagnosed by Rome II criteria with a duration of 6 months to 30 years were enrolled. Radio-opaque markers were used to detect CTT, the transit index (TI) and colonic evacuation rate; PFE was used to observe whether there was any paradoxical movement between the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles.

Results: Colonic transit time was recorded in 32 patients: 20 had outlet obstruction constipation and 12 had slow transit type. In the outlet obstruction type, PFE showed varying degrees of paradoxical movement between the muscles, whereas in the slow transit type, only 4 cases showed it.

Conclusion: Functional constipation can be categorized by CTT and PFE, which are simple, painless and feasible to perform.