Expanding criteria for slow colonic transit in patients being evaluated for chronic constipation by scintigraphy

Background Colonic transit measurement [geometric center (GC) at 24 and 48 hours] identifies slow transit constipation (STC) in patients with chronic constipation. Aim To evaluate the utility of the difference between GC24 and GC48 (Δ48‐24) to identify STC in adults with chronic constipation. Methods We reviewed medical records of 250 patients, aged 18‐75 years, who underwent colonic transit by scintigraphy during 1994‐2019 for investigation of chronic constipation. Data collected included demographics, medical and surgical histories, and anorectal manometry. We used colonic transit from 220 healthy controls to identify the 5th percentile for diagnosing STC: 1.3 at 24 hours, and 1.9 at 48 hours. In addition, the 5th percentile for Δ48‐24 was 0.38 for females and 0.29 for males. Data are reported as median and IQR [Q1, Q3]). Key results Among the 250 patients [median age 42.5 years (IQR 30.75, 56), 84% female], based on GC24