[Follow-up of encopresis in children].

The course of encopresis in 41 children who had been presented at a child and adolescent university clinic was examined by means of a follow-up interview which took place on an average of 3;6 years after the initial visit. The symptoms in this sample diminished considerably: 76% of the children were free of symptoms at the time of the follow-up interview, whereby most of these children had experienced a spontaneous remission. Eighty-one percent of the children were evaluated as having improved in regards to their whole development while in about one third of all the children new problems arose. Remission occurred within the first two years of the initial consultation in 81% of the sample. An examination of the prognostic factors yielded the following relationships: the total remission of symptoms was considerably greater if the frequency of encopresis had been low, if the subjects were male, and if there had not been any therapeutic intervention. However, treatment was usually reserved for relatively serious cases. Favorable outcome tended to be marked by the following factors: normal psychosocial conditions, higher intelligence, the absence of constipation, a concurrently presenting enuresis, and a low degree of behavioral disorders as evaluated by a parental questionnaire. A comparison of the behavioral disorders at the time of the initial consultation and at follow-up revealed a significant reduction of emotional disturbances and hyperactivity. This favorable development was not evident for conduct disorders.