Article

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and benefits of pelvic rehabilitation programs
in terms of functional outcomes and quality of life for patients with fecal
incontinence and defecation disorders after rectal cancer surgery. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: University hospital physiotherapy
clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (N=32) who experienced fecal incontinence after
sphincter-saving surgery with the intersphincteric resection (ISR) technique and
could follow and cooperate with the treatment schedule were included in the
present study. INTERVENTIONS: Pelvic rehabilitation programs included electrical
stimulation (ES) and biofeedback (BF). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional results,
Wexner score, and anorectal manometry were used to assess the clinical outcomes
of rehabilitation treatment. RESULTS: Maximum squeeze pressure improved after
rehabilitation training (P=.014). There were no statistical differences in
resting pressure, resting muscle electromyography, and maximum squeeze
electromyography (P=.061, P=.76, and P=.99, respectively). The mean stool
frequency was 18.8 per 24 hours before the pelvic intervention program and 7.8
per 24 hours after ES and BF training (P<.001). Of the 32 patients, 27 required
antidiarrheal medications before treatment, and after completion of the training,
only 9 patients still needed antidiarrheal medications (P<.001). Significant
improvements were observed in the Wexner score
(17.74 vs 12.93; P<.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that ES and BF are effective in the treatment of fecal
incontinence, leading to improvement of quality of life for patients with low
rectal cancer after ISR.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS