Article

OBJECTIVES: To describe the bowel programmes utilized by individuals with spinal
cord injury; and to determine the association between the outcome of the bowel
programmes and various interventions to facilitate defecation. STUDY DESIGN: A
cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with spinal cord injury who have
neurogenic bowel dysfunction. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted
using a self-constructed questionnaire that consisted of: (i) demographic and
clinical characteristics of the participants; (ii) interventions to facilitate
defecation; (iii) bowel care practices; (iv) outcome of the bowel programme
(incidence of incontinence and duration of the evacuation procedure); and (v)
participant satisfaction with their bowel programme. RESULTS: The majority
(79.2%) of subjects used multiple interventions for bowel care. Duration of the
evacuation procedure was more than 60 min in 28.0% of participants. Water intake
of more than 2 l/day was associated with longer duration of bowel care. Only 8.0%
of participants had at least one episode of incontinence per month. The majority
of participants (84.8%) were satisfied with their bowel programme. CONCLUSION:
Patients used multiple interventions to manage their bowels and spent a
substantial amount of time performing bowel care. Nevertheless, the incidence of
incontinence was low and satisfaction with their bowel programme was high.

Langue : ANGLAIS