Abstract
In Reply.— I think that Dr Conn's comments on my response to the question on infrequent defecation or Hirschsprung's disease are not supported by others who have written about disorders in the passage of stools in infants. The first paragraph specifically states that the spontaneous passage of large soft stools is unusual for Hirschsprung's disease. I discussed this disorder in some detail to address the specific questions raised by the corresponding physician. In my experience, the absence of abdominal distention has not proved to be a reliable sign to exclude Hirschsprung's disease in children with unusual difficulty with defecation. Certainly no pediatrician would oppose performing a sweat test on any child with malodorous stools, although a weight gain of 3 kg in four months would make this diagnosis an unlikely explanation. Of note, the first recommendation for infrequent stooling was that adequate fluid intake be provided. The other recommendations were
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
