Prospective comparison of faecal incontinence grading systems

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Assessment
• Medical Device Validation

Background:

• Existing faecal incontinence scales lack validation against clinical assessment and reproducibility.
• Current scales do not account for faecal urgency or antidiarrhoeal medication use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate existing faecal incontinence scales and a newly designed scale.
• To assess the sensitivity to change of these scales.

Main Methods:

• Prospective evaluation of 23 patients using three established scales, a new scale incorporating urgency and medication details, and a 28-day diary.
• Assessment of 10 female patients before and after surgery using the same scales.

Main Results:

• All scales, including the new one, correlated highly with clinical impression; the new scale showed the highest correlation (r=0.79).
• The new scale demonstrated the greatest significant change post-surgery (p=0.004) and best correlated with clinicians' assessment of change (r=0.94).

Conclusions:

• Existing faecal incontinence scales are useful, reproducible measures for patient and treatment comparison.
• A newly devised scale exhibits high clinical validity and utility for assessing faecal incontinence.