Use of transanal irrigation (TAI) in the treatment of persistent bowel disorders in patients with endometriosis: A retrospective study.

Purpose: Endometriosis has a strong impact on women's quality of life (QoL). Pain is the main symptom of the disease, but bowel dysfunctions such as fecal incontinence, constipation and voiding difficulties are also reported. Patients could suffer from a Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS)-like syndrome. Transanal irrigation (TAI), known to alleviate LARS-related symptoms, has been suggested to aid bowel dysfunction in endometriosis patients, potentially facilitating pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 60 patients with endometriosis and bowel dysfunction who had been prescribed with the Peristeen ^® Plus TAI system. Patient satisfaction, pain, QoL and LARS score were evaluated before (baseline) and after TAI treatment (follow-up of approximately 12 months).
Results: Of the 60 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 12 patients did not complete the questionnaires at follow-up and 16 patients discontinued treatment. Data analysis performed on 32 patients showed a mean increase of 3.6 points in patient satisfaction after TAI treatment and a mean pain reduction of 1.8 points (both, p-value < 0.001). LARS score decreased from a mean of 21.9 at baseline to a mean of 12.7 (p-value < 0.001). Accordingly, there was a notable improvement in patients' QoL.
Conclusion: TAI is a useful treatment for bowel dysfunctions in patients with endometriosis. When offered to these patients, TAI seems to represent a valuable strategy to reduce pelvic floor stress. This study confirms that TAI was associated to a significantly higher patients' satisfaction, as well as to a reduction of pain and LARS-like symptoms.
Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval The protocol of this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria (Negrar di Valpolicella, Verona, Italy). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice for clinical investigations of medical devices in humans. Patient consent Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)