Exploring the Facts Regarding Colon Transit Study in Children

Aim: Constipation is a problem faced by many children around the world. There are different ways of diagnosis and management of this condition. The key to the right diagnosis is based on the series of investigation that differs with children. The subject of interest is often the amount of time it takes for a substance to move through the colon which is known as Colon Transit Time [CTT]. Colon transit study or radio-opaque marker [ROM] study otherwise known as pellet study is one of the first choices of treatment to identify the CTT. Describing the colon transit study based on the established findings is the aim of this study.

Methods: The MeSH terms used for literature retrieval were ‘marker studies in children’, ‘pellet study in children’, ‘colon transit study in children’. The retrieval was performed based on pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science as well as official websites. The search found 31 studies published from 2002 to 2022, as being met the inclusion criteria.

Results: The existing studies have identified a systematic way of performing the colon transit studies in children in many different ways. The colon transit differs with the segment of the colon and the age group of children.

Conclusion: Although the colon transit study requires series of intervention and investigation, the exact way of performing the same depends on the policies and protocols adopted by the individual specialist health care setting.