About 30% of constipated children continue have persistent constipation beyond puberty.

A new study published in the Italian Journal of Pediatrics aimed to evaluate the effect of a probiotic mixture (PM), including Bifidobacteria breve, infantis, and longum on childhood functional constipation (FC).

This study recruited 55 consecutive children suffering from FC, who were randomly assigned into two groups. Group A received a daily oral combination of PEG plus PM, while group B received oral PEG only. Physical and clinical data were collected from each patient at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8.

The results after a month of treatment revealed that 88% of the children in the PEG group and 81.8% in the PEG + PM group experienced improvement. Additionally, one month after the end of the treatments, a positive trend towards a higher rate of clinical remission was observed in children treated with PEG + PM compared to those who were administered PEG only.

From the findings, it was inferred that PEG and PEG + PM are equally effective and safe for the treatment of chronic constipation in children. It was stated that further studies are needed to ascertain whether the addition of Bifidobacteria strains to conventional therapy may lead to a better long-term outcome.