Less than one bowel movement every three days associated with documented slow colonic transit. Slow transit constipation needs to be distinguished from idiopathic normal transit constipation/constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome and from pelvic floor dysfunction. The Rome II diagnostic criteria for this disorder are: At least 12 weeks, which need not be consecutive, in the preceding 12 months, of abdominal discomfort or pain that has two out of these three features: 1. Relieved with defecation; 2. Onset associated with a change in frequency of stool; 3. Onset associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool. The newly published Rome III criteria require a lower frequency of symptoms than Rome II (at least 3 days/month, that is, atleast 10% of the time over the past 3 months for Rome III, compared with at least 25% of the time over the past 12 months for Rome II). The new criteria also distinguish more clearly between IBS subtypes that are now defined as IBS with diarrhea, IBS with constipation, or IBS mixed.
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