Chronic constipation, which is common and often difficult to treat, has numerous origins, including neurological and other conditions, and adverse reactions to drugs, especially opioids. Chronic functional constipation lacks a clear underlying cause. Increasing evidence suggests that transanal irrigation (TAI) aids faecal evacuation and is well tolerated in many people with bowel dysfunction who do not adequately respond to first-line treatments. Recent papers offer insights that help nurses and other healthcare professionals implement best practice in the community, including discussing any need for assistance before starting TAI, agreeing the most appropriate device with patients and optimising the irrigation protocol. Training, careful follow-up and ongoing supervision improve adherence and success. Further studies are needed, however, and patients who do not respond adequately or are unable to tolerate TAI should be referred to a specialist service.

UNASSIGNED: Up to 50% of patients who undergo rectal resection suffer from various and partly severe functional problems, despite the preservation of the anal sphincter. These complaints are defined as low anterior resection syndrome (LARS). So far, there are no randomized clinical trials regarding the most effective treatment for LARS. Our aim is to evaluate whether transanal irrigation improves bowel function and quality of life in patients following low anterior resection compared to best supportive care.
UNASSIGNED: Patients who have undergone low anterior resection will be approached for this study. On patient\'s visit, complaints regarding the defecation as well as any deterioration in their overall quality of life will be assessed using questionnaires such as the Low Anterior Resection Syndromes score, Wexner score, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life (QOL) CR-29, and Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile tool. Few additional target questions will be also asked, such as \"Would you recommend the treatment to anybody; did you expect the improvement following the treatment; etc.\" Questionnaires and scales will be filled on follow-up visits every 3 months for 1 year.
UNASSIGNED: This multicenter, randomized controlled trial will lead to a better understanding of LARS treatment. Moreover, it will be a hypothesis-generating study and will inform areas needing future prospective studies.
UNASSIGNED: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier (NCT05920681).

(1) Background: Bowel management contributes throughout the pathway of care for children with Hirschsprung. Preoperative bowel management prepares the child and family for the pull-through surgery. Perioperative bowel management supports early recovery and tailored bowel management in the follow-up supports the achievement of social continence. (2) Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of our institutional bowel management program to illustrate the pre-, peri- and postoperative bowel management strategies. (3) Results: A total of 31 children underwent primary pull-through, 23 without a stoma and 8 with a stoma, at a median age of 9 months. All children without a stoma were prepared for surgery by using rectal irrigations. Children with a stoma were prepared for surgery with a transfer of stoma effluent. Transanal irrigation supported early recovery. (4) Conclusions: Bowel management is a key pillar of the management of children with Hirschsprung disease. Incorporating bowel management in the pathway of care facilitates primary pull-through and supports perioperative recovery.

Conor Hamilton examines the key components healthcare practitioners should consider when using transanal irrigation.

Defecation function is negatively impacted in patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD), who require effective bowel care for stool evacuation. NBD comprises fecal incontinence and/or constipation, which can reduce the quality of life and dignity. Transanal irrigation (TAI) is recommended by several clinical guidelines as the second-line treatment after conservative treatment and before surgical options are considered. As the only class in the second-line treatment with an established safety and efficacy profile, the mechanism of action of TAI has not fully been elucidated when administered through a rectal catheter with a balloon. This review examines the current understanding regarding the mechanism of action of TAI, with a focus on the pathophysiology of neurogenic bowel and irregular defecation. By understanding the functional implications of TAI, clinicians may be better able to integrate this modality into bowel care programs, especially for patients with NBD who have significant constipation due to delayed colonic motility and impaired stool emptying with loss of voluntary control of defecation, and those who are unresponsive to conservative treatment, including enemas.

BACKGROUND: Continence issues due to organic causes including previous colorectal surgery or neurological issues might benefit from Transanal irrigation (TAI) that proved to be highly effective but with a number of limitations including a relatively high discontinuation rates. Our study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of an advanced protocol tailored to each patient to prevent dropout and increase satisfaction, independence, and quality of life.
METHODS: This was a prospective, interventional, multicenter, nonrandomized study involving children aged 4-18 years with bowel dysfunction unresponsive to conventional treatments who required TAI. TAI was performed in accordance to the best standards of care with a total irrigation volume that was determined based on low emission X-Ray barium enemas performed at the very beginning of the study. All patients underwent training and assessments of continence, patients\' perspectives and quality of life were performed at different timepoints from enrollment (T0) up to 6 months since TAI was introduced (T3).
RESULTS: A total of 78 patients were enrolled. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Mean age at enrollment was 106.1 ± 42.8 months. Discontinuation was reported by 3 patients (3.8 %). Continence, satisfaction and a number of other outcome measures increased from baseline (T0) to the last visit (T3). In particular, mean Rintala total score increased linearly from 7.8 to 14.8 during the study period (T0 to T3 timepoints). On a multivariate analysis, the only parameter that proved to be inversely associated with continence as well as with other outcome measures was the use of laxatives at enrollment and during the study.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated the high efficacy of this innovative patient-tailored TAI protocol across all assessed scores. Of note, given the negative impact of laxatives, our findings suggest limiting their use in this patient population to further increase the efficacy of the procedure.

Faecal incontinence (FI) is a major health problem, both for individuals and for health systems. It is obvious that, for all these reasons, there is widespread concern for healing it or, at least, reducing as far as possible its numerous undesirable effects, in addition to the high costs it entails. There are different criteria for the diagnostic tests to be carried out and the same applies to the most appropriate treatment, among the numerous options that have proliferated in recent years, not always based on rigorous scientific evidence. For this reason, the Spanish Association of Coloproctology (AECP) proposed to draw up a consensus to serve as a guide for all health professionals interested in the problem, aware, however, that the therapeutic decision must be taken on an individual basis: patient characteristics/experience of the care team. For its development it was adopted the Nominal Group Technique methodology. The Levels of Evidence and Grades of Recommendation were established according to the criteria of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. In addition, expert recommendations were added briefly to each of the items analysed.

UNASSIGNED: Chronic constipation is a frequent symptom encountered in the daily clinical practice. The treatment of this condition mainly relies on the use of laxatives. However, patients\' satisfaction with this approach is limited, and alternative measures are often added to the treatment. Among these, particularly frequent worldwide is the use of enemas, even though literature data on its scientific validity are scarce.
UNASSIGNED: In this article, by an extensive online search of Medline (through PubMed), Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, and the Science Citation Index, the available literature data on the use of enemas in adult patients with chronic constipation, also in the perspective of available guidelines on treatment of this pathological condition, were analyzed.
UNASSIGNED: Although the use of enemas remains a frequently employed method and it is considered as useful by many physicians as an adjunctive support for the treatment of chronic constipation in adults, this practice is not substantiated by rigorous scientific data, and some studies are available only for specific instances (fecal impaction, transanal irrigation). Thus, waiting for more robust scientific data, enemas treatment should be carried out on an individual patient\'s basis, according to the experience of the caring physicians.

The aim of this work was to determine the clinical efficacy of high-volume transanal irrigation (TAI) in patients with constipation and/or faecal incontinence using validated symptom and quality of life questionnaires.
This was a prospective cohort study of 114 consecutive patients with constipation and/or faecal incontinence (Rome IV defined) who started TAI. A comprehensive questionnaire was completed at baseline and 4, 12, 26 and 52 weeks\' follow-up. The primary objective was significant symptom reduction [≥30%; Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score (CCCS) and St Marks Incontinence Score (SMIS)] in those who continued TAI at 52 weeks. Secondary objectives were (1) continuation rates of TAI, (2) effect on quality of life (QoL) and (3) identification of predictors for continuation.
A total of 59 (51.8%) patients with constipation, 26 (22.8%) with faecal incontinence and 29 (25.4%) with coexistent symptoms were included. At 52 weeks, 41 (36.0%) patients continued TAI, 63 (55.2%) stopped and 10 (8.8%) patients were lost to follow-up. In those who continued TAI at 52 weeks (n = 41), no reduction of constipation symptoms was observed. Median Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life scores decreased on most domains, indicating QoL improvement. Reduction of faecal incontinence occurred in 5/9 (55.6%) patients with faecal incontinence and in 3/10 (30.0%) patients with coexistent symptoms. The median SMIS per-individual decreased in patients with coexistent symptoms (2; interquartile range 0-4; p = 0.023). Median Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life scores increased in most domains, indicating improved QoL. No clinical characteristics predicted continuation.
One-third (n = 41) of patients continued TAI at 52 weeks. In those who continued TAI at 52 weeks, symptoms of faecal incontinence (SMIS) were reduced but not constipation (CCCS). QoL related to both constipation and faecal incontinence improved. No clinical characteristics predicted continuation.

To evaluate the potential benefits associated with the short-term (6 months) treatment with transanal irrigation (TAI) in patients suffering from functional constipation (FC), functional fecal incontinence (FI), and low anterior resection syndrome (LARS).
A multicenter observational study (12 centers; 369 patients) was conducted to assess the following primary and secondary objectives: to evaluate the level of satisfaction regarding bowel control and quality of life (QoL); to evaluate bowel symptoms severity and dropout frequency and reason. To this aim, validated questionnaires were provided to the patients at baseline (T0) and after 6 months of TAI treatment (T6) performed with the medical device Peristeen® Plus (Coloplast A/S, Denmark). Statistical analyses were conducted to compare the outcomes obtained at T0 and T6.
A 6-month treatment with TAI enabled a statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvement of QoL scores, satisfaction scores regarding bowel control, and severity indexes of disorder-related symptoms in patients suffering from FC, FI, and LARS. Globally, 8.0% of patients discontinued the treatment after 6 months as a result of occurrence of symptoms (2.4%) or other justifications (3.8%) such as personal reasons. None of the dropouts were due to treatment inefficacy.
Results of the present study suggest that short-term TAI treatment is beneficial for patients suffering from functional bowel disorders and LARS. Future analysis of prospective data will focus on the clinical outcomes associated with the long-term use (up to 24 months) of TAI when dealing with these types of medical conditions.