The aim of a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood was to assess the efficacy and safety of polyethylene glycol 3350 plus electrolytes (PEG+E) for the treatment of chronic constipation in children.

This was a randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled crossover trial, with two 2-week treatment periods separated by a 2-week placebo washout, including 51 children (29 girls, 22 boys), aged 24 months to 11 years with chronic constipation.

Among the 47 patients who completed the treatments, the mean number of complete defecations per week was significantly higher for children on PEG+E than on placebo. Additionally, significant differences in the favor of PEG+E were observed for total number of defecations per week, pain on defecation, straining on defecation, stool consistency, and percentage of hard stools. On the other hand, treatment related adverse events (all mild or moderate) occurred in an equivalent numbers of children on PEG+E (41%) and on placebo (45%), during treatment.

From the results, it was inferred that PEG+E is significantly more effective than placebo, and a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality for chronic constipation in children.