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Given
the prime importance of constipation as a symptom, rather than
a disease, it might be argued that this is the only kind of measurement
that is necessary or even valid. It is certainly a vital accompaniment
to any comparison of treatments for constipation, as only by asking
for the patient's view can it be discovered whether the symptom
has been relieved. Both direct estimation methods and questionnaires
have been used for this approach to the assessment of constipation.
The most common
approaches for subjective measurement are:
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