Encopresis: A medical and family approach

Introduction Encopresis is a not very common disorder. The prevalence of this disorder is about 1.5% after the age of 5 years old and decreased even more as age increased, being very rare in adolescence. Aim Here we present a clinical case of an 11-year-old girl, with a diagnosis of functional encopresis with constipation and overflow incontinence for 4 years. Method In this case, we followed a program consisted of 12 sessions combining different techniques that are on experimental phase. The program we designed consist of toilet training, stablishment-token economy- of a diet high in fiber with a progressive remove of laxative medication and a family intervention with both parents that got divorced 4 years ago. Results Having both parents the same frame the patient's problem easily started to decrease. In follow-up (6 and 12 months), we observed good toilet habits and not constipations episodes. Conclusions Even though all the techniques used were in experimental phase, we considered that because of the chronicity of this problem a multidisciplinary approach was the best option.