The Incidence and Correlated Factors of Childhood Re-Admissions for Chronic Constipation; A Single Center Study

Chronic constipation is a common problem in children, which may last for years and cause unpleasant effects on the patients’ and their family’s lives. Timely treatment can reduce the costs and complications. Re-admissions not only have a negative impact on the quality of life of the patients and their family but also has an adverse economic impact on the health system. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of constipation re-admissions and some related factors in Motahari Hospital of Urmia from 2013 to 2019.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 1045 cases of constipated children were investigated from the beginning of 2013 to the end of 2019. At first, a checklist containing demographic information and clinical characteristics of all children admitted with constipation was prepared and completed, and then data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.

Out of 1045 children with constipation, 48% were male, and 52% were female with a mean age of 5/1±2/92 years. 73.4% were urban, and 26.6% were rural residents, and 14% of the children were admitted more than once during 6 years. There was a significant relationship between age, weight, height, parental education, and place of residence with re-admissions in children with chronic constipation (p<0.05).

The findings of this study showed that the cornerstone of re-admissions due to chronic constipation in children might be multifactorial and needs complete evaluation of social, behavioral and health status of children.