Prevalence of faecal incontinence in adults aged 40 years or more living in the community.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence studies of faecal incontinence in the general population are rare and the impact of faecal incontinence on quality of life has not been previously addressed. AIMS: To establish the prevalence of faecal incontinence in adults in terms of frequency of leakage, degree of soiling, and level of impact on quality of life. METHODS: In a cross sectional postal survey, 15 904 adults aged 40 years or more (excluding residents of nursing and residential homes) were selected randomly by household from the Leicestershire Health Authority patient register. Participants were asked to complete a confidential health questionnaire. Major faecal incontinence was defined as soiling of underwear or worse with a frequency of several times a month or more. Respondents were also asked if bowel symptoms had an impact on their quality of life. RESULTS: From a total sample of 10 116 respondents, 1.4% reported major faecal incontinence and 0.7% major faecal incontinence with bowel symptoms that had an impact on quality of life. Major faecal incontinence was significantly associated with a lot of impact on quality of life (odds ratio 12.4, 95% confidence interval 7.5-20.6). Incontinence was more prevalent and more severe in older people but there was no significant difference between men and women. CONCLUSIONS: This study has confirmed that faecal incontinence is a fairly common symptom, particularly in older people. Faecal incontinence in men has received little attention in the past and the results from this study indicate that it is as much of a problem in men as it is in women while the level of unmet need in this group is high. Estimates of need for health care for this symptom should be multidimensional and assess both the severity of symptoms and the impact it has on quality of life.

The tension-free vaginal tape procedure in women with previous failed stress incontinence surgery.

PURPOSE: The tension-free vaginal tape procedure is an increasingly popular choice for treating female urinary stress incontinence. This ongoing, prospective, open label study presents the results of tension-free vaginal tape surgery at 1 year in women who have previously undergone unsuccessful stress incontinence surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 67 women with previous failed surgery for stress urinary incontinence underwent the tension-free vaginal tape procedure. Treatment outcome was categorized as cure, significant improvement or failure based on cystometry findings and urinary pad loss results at 3 months of followup, and on subjective questioning at 3 months and 1 year of followup. RESULTS: At 12 months 54 women (81%) were cured, 4 (6%) were significantly improved and 9 (13%) were no better. No serious morbidity was noted after the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The tension-free vaginal tape procedure provides the prospect of a success rate similar to that of a conventional sling procedure in patients with previous failed surgery. It has a low rate of operative complications and postoperative morbidity.

Economics of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older people.

Urinary incontinence is an area of clinical and social importance to older people and providers of care. This article provides an update on the 'symptom' of urinary incontinence and reviews the concept of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The challenges facing health services researchers working in this field are also discussed in terms of trying to quantify the size and extent of the underlying problem. Economic issues and work undertaken to evaluate the cost of LUTS are appraised and the common nonsurgical treatments for LUTS are described together with associated conditions and their cost implications. The cost to individuals and society of LUTS is generally underestimated and the importance of reducing its severity (if cure is not achievable) makes clinical and economic sense.