Consequently, bowel dysfunction is one of the most common problems evaluated by pediatricians, pediatric gastroenterologists, and pediatric surgeons. This may be the reason why two recent publications review diagnosis, standard bowel care, and prevention of pediatric constipation.
Transanal irrigation is considered to be a significant bowel management therapy in children for whom standard bowel care is ineffective, and several different products are available. One conference abstract reports preliminary data comparing Colotip® and Peristeen® in children with bowel dysfunction. Although no difference can be verified with only 7 patients, a trend in favor of Peristeen® is noticeable.
Transanal irrigation was first introduced to a group of children suffering from neurogenic bowel disorder as a result of spina bifida. Two new studies show that in the group of children with spina bifida, continence problems appear to have a significant impact on life quality.
Furthermore, children with spina bifida who suffer from urinary and stool incontinence had the lowest overall agreement between self- and medical record reporting. This indicates that continence is an important factor in every child’s life and needs to be taken seriously.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40746-017-0078-8
Jiles K.A., Hamrick M.C. US
Review of bowel dysfunction in children, covering physiology, diagnosis and treatments in standard bowel care.
It is important to accept that constipation can be a severe, life-altering problem for children, and it should be addressed with an aggressive management strategy.
Review of bowel dysfunction in children with focus on functional bowel.
http://journals.lww.com/jpgn/Documents/ESPGHAN2017_Abstracts%20Publication%20JPGN_FINAL.pdf
Van Renterghem K., Van Biervliet S., Ruth D.B., Van Winckel M., Velde S.V. Belgium
A study comparing bowel management using the colon enema systems Colotip and Peristeen in 7 children. The study is still ongoing.
There are no significant differences in continence, time spent on the toilet, or self-reliability according to the visual analog scale between the two products. This may be due to the small sample size. All patients and parents preferred using Peristeen.
Preliminary result from a study comparing the effectiveness of and satisfaction with Colotip and Peristeen in children.
Ferrara L, Saccomano, SJ. US
Review of bowel constipation in children, covering epidemiology, psychological factors, diagnosis, and first line treatment (standard bowel care).
Childhood constipation is a health concern that can produce stress for parents and caregivers. Supporting and encouraging parents and caregivers are important for alleviating parental fear and concern.
Review of constipation in children, mainly focusing on psychology in children and parents or care givers.
Holroyd S. UK
A nurse-focused overview of transanal irrigation, including indications, assessments, risk factors of different systems, and clinical considerations.
Transanal irrigation is a minimally invasive technique. However, it requires careful assessments, and ongoing support of the patient’s needs.
Review of transanal irrigation with nursing focus.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28656385
Canaz H, Canaz G, Dogan I, Alatas I. Turkey
Observational study of health-related quality of life in 35 myelomeningocele patients using the Child Edition of the Child Health and Illness Profile (CHIP-CE).
Continence problems appear to have a significant impact on quality of life for myelomeningocele patients.
Study exploring the impact of incontinence on quality of life in children with myelomeningocele.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28655526
Halline CG, Meyer T, Rosoklija I, Yerkes EB. US
Observational study in 176 pediatric spina bifida patients, investigating differences between self- and medical record reporting of continence status and personal bladder/bowel management.
A general strong agreement between self- and medical record reporting was found, but medically complex patients showed lower agreement. For example, patients with urinary and stool incontinence had the lowest overall agreement, with 69% and 74% respectively.
Study highlighting the importance of minimizing disagreement between self- and medical record reporting to ensure standardized data collection. This will ultimately help to improve outcomes among pediatric spinal bifida patients with bladder and bowel problems.
This blog post is an extract of the Science Alert from July 2017 (76070-USX-1707)