TY - JOUR
T1 - Bowel function and quality of life after colostomy in individuals with spinal cord injury
AU - Bølling Hansen, Rikke
AU - Staun, Michael
AU - Kalhauge, Anna
AU - Langholz, Ebbe
AU - Biering-Sørensen, Fin
PY - 2016/5/3
Y1 - 2016/5/3
N2 - To evaluate the effect of colostomy on bowel function and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Department for Spinal Cord Injuries and Departments of Gastroenterology and Radiology, Rigshospitalet. Participants: Eighteen individuals with SCI and a colostomy performed post injury, 12 males, 6 females, 8 with tetraplegia and 10 with paraplegia. Median age at time of study was 49.9 years, years since lesion was 3–56 years, and time since colostomy was performed 0.5 to 20 years. Interventions: Questionnaires and measurement of gastrointestinal transit time (GITT). Outcome measures: Retrospective data collection from patient records, a questionnaire on bowel management pre and post colostomy, quality of life (QoL) by SF-36, and GITT. Results: Seventy-two percent significantly reduced their use of time on bowel emptying after the colostomy. All but one reported being content with the colostomy. Thirty-nine percent reported one or more problems related to the colostomy. Seventy-five percent had a GITT within normal range for able-bodied populations. When disregarding the physical component, QoL was not significantly lower in the total study group compared to a Danish norm group, but significantly lower when compared the subgroup of persons with tetraplegia. Conclusion: A colostomy reduces the time necessary for bowel management. The majority of individuals with SCI and a colostomy did not perceive bowel management as being a problem. The results indicate that colostomy is a favourable option for individuals with SCI, who spend long hours on bowel management and for whom non-invasive procedures did not improve the situation enough.
AB - To evaluate the effect of colostomy on bowel function and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Department for Spinal Cord Injuries and Departments of Gastroenterology and Radiology, Rigshospitalet. Participants: Eighteen individuals with SCI and a colostomy performed post injury, 12 males, 6 females, 8 with tetraplegia and 10 with paraplegia. Median age at time of study was 49.9 years, years since lesion was 3–56 years, and time since colostomy was performed 0.5 to 20 years. Interventions: Questionnaires and measurement of gastrointestinal transit time (GITT). Outcome measures: Retrospective data collection from patient records, a questionnaire on bowel management pre and post colostomy, quality of life (QoL) by SF-36, and GITT. Results: Seventy-two percent significantly reduced their use of time on bowel emptying after the colostomy. All but one reported being content with the colostomy. Thirty-nine percent reported one or more problems related to the colostomy. Seventy-five percent had a GITT within normal range for able-bodied populations. When disregarding the physical component, QoL was not significantly lower in the total study group compared to a Danish norm group, but significantly lower when compared the subgroup of persons with tetraplegia. Conclusion: A colostomy reduces the time necessary for bowel management. The majority of individuals with SCI and a colostomy did not perceive bowel management as being a problem. The results indicate that colostomy is a favourable option for individuals with SCI, who spend long hours on bowel management and for whom non-invasive procedures did not improve the situation enough.
KW - Journal Article
U2 - 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000006
DO - 10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000006
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 25738657
SN - 1079-0268
VL - 39
SP - 281
EP - 289
JO - Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
JF - Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
IS - 3
ER -