Constipation With Acquired Megarectum in Children With Autism

ABSTRACT. Objective. Recent evidence suggests that autistic children may have significant gastrointestinal symptoms. Although constipation occurs in 2 % to 5 % of healthy children, its clinical diagnosis is often difficult in children with behavioral disorders. We thus aimed to assess the prevalence of fecal loading in autistic children with gastrointestinal symptoms and to identify possible predictors of constipation. Methods. We studied abdominal radiographs of 103 autistic children (87 boys) who were referred for gastro-enterological assessment, in comparison with 29 control radiographs from children who were referred to the emergency department, most with abdominal pain. Ra-diographs were scored independently, in blinded man-ner, by 4 pediatric gastroenterologists and a radiologist