Anal Fissure Epidemiology and Related Diseases in Children

Objective: After an anal fissure (AF), patients frequently avoid defecation, even if they havediarrhea, due to severe anal pain. This is particularly evident in constipated patients, howeverthe type of functional disease that causes AF is not limited to constipation or persistentdiarrhea. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and the clinical importanceof diseases associated with AF in childhood age groups among young patients with differentclinical pictures.Methods: The data related to age, sex, and the accompanying disease of AF patients werecollected from a hospital database. Of 7406 patients, 728 were identified and categorizedin 6 distinct disease groups associated with AF: constipation; constipation with anal incontinence, urinary incontinence, or anal incontinence and urinary incontinence; infantile colic(IC); and diaper dermatitis (DD). The symptoms of the AF-related diseases were recordedand it was assessed whether AF-related symptoms were reduced after AF treatment.Results: Of the 728 AF-associated patients of all groups, it was observed that 1 weekafter AF therapy, 529 (72%) experienced a regression in both current disease and AF-related symptoms (p<0.05; r=0.26). The improvement in the first week after treatment had astronger correlation than the improvement in the third week (r=0.26 vs. 0.19).Conclusion: AF was associated with constipation, anal-urinary incontinence, IC, and DD,and was critically important in the targeted treatment of the related illness. The potentialpresence of AF should be kept in mind when planning the treatment of these 6 functionaldisorders.