Prospects for using probiotics in the treatment of constipation in children

Every paediatrician faces the problem of how to diagnose and treat constipation in children in the daily practice. According to the sociological survey of parents and doctors, on average every third child has a delay in evacuating stool. According to the 2016 Rome VI criteria, the diagnosis of functional constipation in children from 0 to 4 years of age is based on diagnostic signs that differ for children older than 4 years old. This article considers the mechanisms of constipation development in children of different age groups, and discusses the influence of microbiota on the development of motor and neurosensory intestinal disorders. The use of probiotics in constipation therapy is still controversial. The article presents recent studies of the efficacy of different probiotic strains in the treatment of constipation in children. So far, only Lactobacillus reuteri (DSM 17938) has a proven effect for the treatment of constipation in using monostam probiotics