• Denise G Tate, Martin Forchheimer, Gianna Rodriguez, Anthony Chiodo, Anne Pelletier Cameron, Michelle Meade, and Andrei Krassioukov.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI. Electronic address: dgtate@umich.edu.
• Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016 Oct 1; 97 (10): 1679-86.

ObjectivesTo (1) assess the factors associated with methods of bowel management and bowel-related complications; and (2) determine the risk factors associated with bowel complications and overall bowel dysfunction, using multivariate modeling.DesignCross-sectional observational study.SettingA Spinal Cord Injury Model System, with additional participants recruited from other sites.ParticipantsSubjects (N=291) who incurred traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) with resultant neurogenic bowel who were ≥5 years postinjury at the time of interview.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresConstipation, bowel incontinence, and neurogenic bowel dysfunction questionnaire scores. These measures were all derived from the Bowel and Bladder Treatment Index. Data analyses included descriptive and bivariate statistics as well as logistic and linear regression modeling.ResultsRisk factors contributing to bowel incontinence included overall bowel dysfunction as measured by the neurogenic bowel dysfunction score, timing of bowel program, being married or having a significant other, urinary incontinence, constipation, and use of diuretics. Constipation was best predicted by age, race/ethnicity, using laxatives/oral medications, incomplete tetraplegia, frequency of bowel movements, abdominal pain, access to clinicians and caregivers, and history of bowel surgeries. Neurogenic bowel dysfunction scores were predicted by neurologic classification; use of laxatives, oral medications, or both; bowel incontinence; and frequency of fiber intake.ConclusionsThese results suggest a number of factors that should be considered when treating neurogenic bowel complications and dysfunction in persons with SCI.Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

29 keywords...

hide…