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Objectives: The current gold standard for the diagnosis of functional constipation is the ROME IV criteria. European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition (NASPGHAN) guidelines do not support the use of abdominal X-rays in establishing the diagnosis of constipation. Despite these recommendations, abdominal radiography is frequently performed to diagnose constipation. The objective of our study is to evaluate inter and intraobserver variation in interpretation of fecal loading on abdominal radiographs. Methods: Electronic records of 100 children seen in the emergency room for gastrointestinal symptoms who had an abdominal radiograph performed were included. Four physicians from each specialty including gastroenterology, radiology, and emergency medicine interpreted the radiographs independently. Initially, subjective interpretations, followed by interpretations for intraobserver variation were obtained. Subsequently, all physicians were trained and asked to score the X-rays objectively using Barr and Blethyn scoring systems. Consistency between inter and intraobserver ratings of radiographic interpretation was evaluated using the Kappa coefficient (k) which ranges from 0 (no agreement) to 1.0 (perfect agreement). Results: For subjective interpretations, k values showed a fixed margin k of 0.18 indicating poor agreement among 12 observers. Intraobserver k to look for reproducibility showed significant variability ranging from 0.08 (poor) to 0.61 (fair) agreement. Objective scoring results for Blethyn showed a k of 0.14 indicating poor agreement among 12 providers. Conclusions: Reliability and reproducibility of X-rays for diagnosis and grading of constipation is questionable given poor to fair agreement for both inter and intraobserver comparisons. Our study supports the current recommendation of ESPGHAN and NASPGHAN to not use abdominal X-rays to diagnose constipation.

BackgroundFecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections (rCDI). In comparison, FMT has more limited efficacy in treating either ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD), two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We hypothesize that FMT recipients with rCDI and/or IBD have baseline fecal bile acid (BA) compositions that differ significantly from that of their healthy donors and may be normalized by FMT.AimTo study the effect of single colonoscopic FMT on the microbial composition and function of recipients with rCDI and/or IBD.MethodsMulti-omic analysis was performed on stools from 55 pairs of subjects and donors enrolled in two prospective single arm FMT clinical trials [ClinicalTrials.gov ID:NCT03268213, 479696, (IND) 15642, ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03267238, IND 16795]. Fitted linear mixed models were used to examine the effects of four recipient groups (rCDI - IBD, rCDI + IBD, UC - rCDI, CD - rCDI), FMT status (Donor, pre-FMT, 1-week post-FMT, 3-months post-FMT) and first order Group*FMT interactions.ResultsFMT was effective in preventing rCDI for up to one year in 92% of the rCDI - IBD group and 75% of the rCDI + IBD recipients. The donor-recipient Sørensen similarity index was < 0.6 in all donor-CDI recipient pairs but > 0.6 in some donor-IBD only recipient pairs at baseline. Increasing post-FMT similarity indices > 0.6 in IBD recipients, was not clearly associated with reduced fecal calprotectin levels. Fecal secondary BA levels were lower in rCDI ± IBD and CD – rCDI recipients compared to donors. FMT restored secondary BA levels in these recipients. Metagenomic baiE gene and some of the 8 bile salt hydrolase (BSH) phylotype abundances were significantly correlated with fecal BA levels.ConclusionRestoration of multiple secondary BA levels, including those recently implicated in immunomodulation, are associated with restoration of fecal baiE gene counts, suggesting that the 7-α-dehydroxylation step is rate-limiting.

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