Presentation
Infrequent bowel habit with no response to mutliple different laxative agents - ? slow transit constipation
Patient Data
A capsule containing 20 radio-opaque markers is swallowed and an abdominal xray is taken 2 hours later. The markers are seen distributed within the right iliac fossa, likely to be within the distal small bowel and cecum.
None of the markers are seen, indicating that there is no slow transit constipation.
Case Discussion
Functional impairment of defecation can be divided into three subtypes:
- slow colonic transit
- obstructed defecation (pelvic floor disorders)
- a combination of the above
Colonic transit studies (also known as Sitz marker studies) aid in defining which group a patient with disordered bowel habit may fall into.