• constipation
• functional non-retentive faecal soiling
• recurrent abdominal pain
• child behaviour checklist

When the editorial committee discussed whether to accept the paper by Benninga et al for publication,¹ some members raised concerns over the propriety of undertaking rectal manometry on children with abdominal pain. In response, the authors promptly provided their correspondence with the appropriate ethical committee (institutional review board). These revealed that the authors had properly obtained approval for the investigation in constipated children, their siblings (following fully informed consent), and those undergoing endoscopy for other conditions.

We accepted the authors’ explanation that the children with a prime complaint of abdominal pain had been referred to their …