ABSTRACT
Since James Reston's Acupuncture experiece in Beijin in 1971, America opened her eyes to acupuncture. In the 1980's, Joseph M. Helms, M.D.at UCLA studied Chinese acupuncture in France and established AAMA (American Academy of Medical Acupuncture) for physicians and authored his book “ACUPUNCTURE ENERGETICS” which has become the golden textbook for physician acupuncturists. His “energizing” tech-nique for various illness became the standard, Of course, other modalities have been utilized. With Helms' in-fluence, AAMA has grown to 2000 members including those outside the USA. In 2000, ABMA (American Board of Medical Acupuncture) was developed for the physician acupuncturists certified as experts in the field of medical acupuncture. The members are working and studying diligently. At the end of this report, I will discuss my own practice.
ABSTRACT
Our goals are to review the literature on the definition and epidemiology of fecal incontinence (FI), the risk factors involved, available treatment options, and measurement of the quality of life (QOL) of patients with this condition. Articles included for review were searched following the guidelines set by Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook. FI was defined variously depending upon the duration, type, and amount of leakage. About 17 published papers were reviewed on the prevalence of FI that ranged from 1.4% to 50%. Potential risk factors included perianal injury/surgery, and fair/poor general health. QOL assessment using various grading scales provided an objective method of evaluating patients before and after treatment. Management included medical, physiotherapy, and surgical options. Through the range of various references, a clear definition of FI should be specified, which reflects its epidemiology in the various studies. These differences in definition would significantly affect its prevalence. Many risk factors have been sited but further epidemiological studies are necessary to elucidate FI. Understanding the etiology of the disease is an important initial step to provide adequate treatment of FI. QOL assessment provides objective and subjective method in the analysis of effectiveness of therapy.