Abstract
The measurement of fecal incontinence is challenging. Because fecal incontinence is a symptom, the subjective perception of the patient must be the foundation of any evaluation of incontinence or the impact of incontinence. The lack of a criterion standard makes testing measures for reliability and validity more difficult. Despite this, many measures are available and can be divided into three broad categories: descriptive measures that do not provide summary scores; severity measures that assess the frequency and type of incontinence; and impact measures that assess the effect of incontinence on quality of life. The strengths and weaknesses of currently available measures are presented in this review.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1591-1605 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Diseases of the colon and rectum |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2003 |
Keywords
- Fecal incontinence
- Function
- Measurement
- Outcome assessment
- Quality of life