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The \u2018ideal\u2019 test should be practical, non-invasive, widely available and cost-effective. None of the available diagnostic tools is designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of colon function and clinicians often have to combine more than one test to answer different questions. In this review, we aim to assess the strengths and limitations of the commonly available diagnostic investigations (radiopaque marker studies, scintigraphy, wireless motility capsule and colonic manometry) used to assess colon transit in children and to provide guidance on the most appropriate test for particular clinical settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/flgastro-2020-101719","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T15:05:29Z","timestamp":1620659129000},"page":"152-159","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Bowel transit studies in children: evidence base, role and practicalities"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6551-6196","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mara","family":"Popescu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8869-9466","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohamed","family":"Mutalib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK"},{"name":"Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Evelina London Children's Hospital, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025090708154458000_13.2.152.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpeds.2018.02.029","article-title":"Prevalence of functional defecation disorders in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"198","author":"Koppen","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Pediatr"},{"key":"2025090708154458000_13.2.152.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(19)30297-3","article-title":"The cost of constipation","volume":"4","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol"},{"key":"2025090708154458000_13.2.152.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hyams JS , Di Lorenzo C , Saps M . 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