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World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Jun 22, 2026; 17(2): 121705
Published online Jun 22, 2026. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v17.i2.121705
Published online Jun 22, 2026. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v17.i2.121705
Occult constipation masking as irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea in Bangladeshi children
Md Benzamin, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Md Ziaur Rahman Chowdhury, Akhlaq Ahmed, Tuhin Barua Tamal, Aparajita Chowdhury, Department of Pediatrics, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Pranto Chakroborty, Department of Neurosurgery, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Abu Sayed Mohammad Bazlul Karim, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Bangladesh Medical University, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Co-corresponding authors: Md Benzamin and Pranto Chakroborty.
Author contributions: Benzamin M and Chowdhury MZR were the guarantors and designed the study; Chakroborty P, Chowdhury A, and Tamal TB participated in data collection; Benzamin M and Chakroborty P participated in the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the data, and drafted the initial manuscript; Ahmed A and Karim ASMB critically revised the article for important intellectual content. Both Benzamin M and Chakroborty P have made important and indispensable contributions to this study as the co-corresponding authors. Benzamin M supervised the overall project, contributed to the study design, interpretation of findings, and critical revision of the manuscript. Chakroborty P played a major role in data acquisition, analysis, literature review, manuscript drafting, and revision. Both authors were actively involved in scientific discussions, manuscript preparation, and approval of the final version for publication.
Institutional review board statement: Ethical clearance was acquired from the Departmental Review Board, Department of Pediatrics, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet, Bangladesh (No. 007/SOMC/2022). Since the data collected in this study was a part of medical services with routine pattern in hospitals and the mode of data collection was noninvasive. All individuals were participating in this study only with their willingness.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from each study participant’s mother/caretaker before data collection. Confidentiality of the data was protected by omitting their identifiers.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items—and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Md Benzamin, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Kajalshah, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh. drmd.benzamin@magosmanimedical.com
Received: April 1, 2026
Revised: April 25, 2026
Accepted: May 13, 2026
Published online: June 22, 2026
Processing time: 77 Days and 6.7 Hours
Revised: April 25, 2026
Accepted: May 13, 2026
Published online: June 22, 2026
Processing time: 77 Days and 6.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Occult constipation (OC) is a significant diagnostic challenge because its symptoms, such as abdominal pain and frequent mucoid stools, often mimic those of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea. This clinical overlap frequently leads to misdiagnosis, where patients receive treatments that inadvertently worsen the underlying fecal impaction. Utilizing a plain abdominal X-ray serves as a practical and effective tool to visualize fecal loading and confirm the diagnosis of OC.