Functional constipation at a young age. Place of macrogol 4000 (Forlax) in the treatment

Background. Considering the wide prevalence of functional constipation (FC) at a young age, we set ourselves the task of comparing the effectiveness of osmotic laxative macrogol 4000 (Forlax) in the treatment of FC in adolescents and young adults in the Ukrainian population. Materials and methods. We have examined 35 young adults aged 19 to 25 years (average age 24.10 ± 0.33 years) and 28 children in late adolescence aged 15 to 19 years (average age 15.90 ± 0.21 years). In the group of young adults, female patients slightly dominated (20/15), and among adolescents, both sexes were equally represented (14/14). It was an open-label, multi-center study. Patients with FC were monitored at the Kyiv gastrocenter and Kramatorsk Children’s Territorial Medical Association. The diagnosis of FC in the adult and adolescent groups was made based on the well-known Rome IV criteria. The frequency of bowel movements during the week was evaluated, as well as the shape of the stool according to the Bristol stool scale. The general state of health and severity of abdominal distention were evaluated on a 10-centimeter Visual analogue scale. Macrogol Forlax was administered as 10 g of powder dissolved in a glass of water once a day in the morning. With insufficient effect after 7 days of treatment, the dose was doubled. The duration of the drug use was 14 days. Results. After two weeks of treatment, the following results were obtained. The frequency of bowel movements was 4.36 ± 0.21 (p < 0.001) once a week, the shape of the stool according to the Bristol stool scale was 3.48 ± 0.22 (p