Comparative Efficacy of Transcutaneous Functional Electrical Stimulation With or Without Biofeedback Therapy on Functional Non-Retentive Fecal Incontinence in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial Publisher Pubmed



Ladiseyedian SS^{1, 3} ; Sharifirad L^{1, 2, 3} ; Alimadadi H^{1, 4} ; Nabavizadeh B¹ ; Manouchehri N^{1, 3} ; Allahverdi B^{1, 4} ; Motamed F^{1, 4} ; Fallahi GH^{1, 4}
Source: Digestive Diseases and Sciences Published:2022

Abstract

Background: We compared the effects of transcutaneous functional electrical stimulation (TFES) and biofeedback therapy with TFES alone in a cohort of children with functional non-retentive fecal incontinence (FNRFI). Methods: This prospective, single-center randomized clinical trial was performed on 40 children with FNRFI. Patients were randomly allocated into two equal treatment groups. Group A (n = 20) underwent TFES + biofeedback therapy, and group B (n = 20) received TFES alone. All patients were assessed with a pediatric fecal incontinence (FI) score questionnaire, a visual pain score, and a bowel habit diary both before and at the end of treatment sessions and also at 6 months of follow-up. In addition, a FI quality-of-life (QoL) questionnaire was recorded for all patients before and 6 months after the treatment. Results: FI significantly improved in 13/20 (65%) patients in group A and 11/20 (55%) patients in group B (P < 0.05). A significant reduction in FI score was seen in each group at the end of treatment sessions and maintained at 6 months of follow-up (P < 0.05). A significant improvement in FI-QoL scores was seen in both groups at 6 months of follow-up in which there was no significant difference in terms of FI-QoL scores improvement between both groups after treatment. Conclusions: The use of electrical stimulation in combination with other treatment methods improves symptoms in patients with FNRFI who are refractory to conventional treatment. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.