What are Normal Defecation Patterns in Healthy Children up to Four Years of Age? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To summarize available data on defecation frequency and stool consistency of healthy children up to age 4 in order to estimate normal references values. Systematic review including cross-sectional, observational, and interventional studies published in English, that reported on defecation frequency...

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Published in:The Journal of pediatrics 2023-10, Vol.261, p.113559-113559, Article 113559
Main Authors: Baaleman, Desiree F., Wegh, Carrie A.M., de Leeuw, Tessa J.M., van Etten – Jamaludin, Faridi S., Vaughan, Elaine E., Schoterman, Margriet H.C., Belzer, Clara, Smidt, Hauke, Tabbers, Merit M., Benninga, Marc A., Koppen, Ilan J.N.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:To summarize available data on defecation frequency and stool consistency of healthy children up to age 4 in order to estimate normal references values. Systematic review including cross-sectional, observational, and interventional studies published in English, that reported on defecation frequency and/or stool consistency in healthy children 0-4 years old. Seventy-five studies were included with 16 393 children and 40 033 measurements of defecation frequency and/or stool consistency. Based on visual inspection of defecation frequency data, a differentiation was made between two age categories: young infants (0-14 weeks old) and young children (15 weeks-4 years old). Young infants had a mean defecation frequency of 21.8 per week (95 % CI, 3.9-35.2) compared with 10.9 (CI, 5.7-16.7) in young children (P 
ISSN:0022-3476
1097-6833
DOI:10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113559