Sonographic Evaluation of Gallbladder Motility in Children with Chronic Functional Constipation

• Published in: Gut and liver Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 388 - 394
• Main Authors: Rakesh Mehra, Kushaljit Singh Sodhi, Akshay Saxena, Br Thapa, Niranjan Khandelwal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한소화기학회 31.05.2015
• Subjects: Children; Constipation; Gallbladder; Motility; Ultrasound
• ISSN: 1976-2283; 2005-1212

Background/Aims: Studies in adults suggest that constipa￢tion may not be a purely colonic pathology and may be a component of a generalized gastrointestinal (GI) motor dis￢order in which proximal GI motility can be impaired. Pediatric data are scarce, and the natural history of the disorder re￢mains undefined. We aimed to evaluate gallbladder motility in a subset of Asian children with chronic functional consti￢pation. Methods: Abdominal ultrasound was performed on 105 children, including 55 patients (aged 3 to 13 years) with chronic functional constipation who met the inclusion criteria and 50 age- and gender-matched controls. The gallbladder contractility index was calculated based on the preprandial and postprandial gallbladder areas. Preprandial and post￢prandial values for gallbladder volume and wall thickness were evaluated. Results: The mean value of the contractil￢ity index for the patients (15.77±24.68) was significantly lower than the mean value for the controls (43.66±11.58) (p=0.001). The mean postprandial gallbladder volumes and areas were larger in children with gallbladder hypomotility (p<0.05). The mean duration of constipation (4.8 months) was significantly higher (p=0.004) in the children with gall￢bladder hypomotility. Conclusions: Gallbladder motility is significantly impaired in children with chronic functional con￢stipation. This study contributes to the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, which will enable advancement in and improved management of children with chronic con￢stipation and associated gallbladder hypomotility. (Gut Liver 2015;9:388-394)