Constipation screening

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Eiman Ghaffarpasand, M.D. [2]

Overview

According to the USPSTF, screening for constipation is not recommended in general population. In palliative care patients, screening for constipation by specific questionnaire about subjective and objective findings is recommended.

Screening

According to the USPSTF, screening for constipation is not recommended in general population.

In palliative care patients, screening for constipation by specific questionnaire about subjective and objective findings is recommended.^[1]
The screening questionnaire is composed of 5 questions, as following:^[1]

Group	Question	Answer interpretation
Symptoms	Do you have pain, discomfort or a sensation of incomplete evacuation when having a bowel movement?	Positive response reflects constipation
Symptoms	Please indicate the degree of ‘‘discomfort or difficult with constipation’’ 0=None 10=Maximum discomfort	Higher scores reflect more constipation severity
Signs	On average: How many bowel movements per week do you estimate you have had over the last 3 weeks?	< 3 movements reflects constipation
Signs	Please indicate the usual hardness of your bowels. Hard, soft or normal? Are they runny or pasty?	Hard consistency reflects constipation
Fecal impaction	Fecal impaction defined as the accumulation of hard feces in the rectum that would require unusual effort to evacuate, such as manual extraction, repetitive enemas, or intensive oral use of laxatives.	Positive response reflects constipation

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Noguera A, Centeno C, Librada S, Nabal M (2009). “Screening for constipation in palliative care patients”. J Palliat Med. 12 (10): 915–20. doi:10.1089/jpm.2009.0054. PMID 19747036.

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[pmid19747036-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Noguera A, Centeno C, Librada S, Nabal M (2009). “Screening for constipation in palliative care patients”. J Palliat Med. 12 (10): 915–20. doi:10.1089/jpm.2009.0054. PMID 19747036.

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