Effective of education on quality of life and constipation severity in patients with primary constipation

Effectiveness of acupoint stimulation combined with neurogenic bowel training on constipation in stroke patients: a retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the effectiveness of acupoint stimulation combined with neurogenic bowel training on constipation in stroke patients.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 89 stroke patients with constipation admitted to our hospital from July 2022 to January 2024. All patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The control group (n = 42) received neurogenic bowel training intervention, while the experimental group (n = 47) received finger acupoint stimulation combined with neurogenic bowel training intervention. Four outcome measures including intervention effects, bowel movements, Constipation Scoring System (CSS), and Scores on the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The total intervention effective rate in the experimental group (91.49%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (73.81%) (p < 0.05). Two weeks after intervention, the experimental group had significantly better first bowel movement time, average bowel movement time, and bowel movement interval time compared to the control group (p < 0.05). One and 2 weeks after intervention, the CSS and PAC-QOL scores in the experimental group were significantly better than those in the control group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Acupoint stimulation combined with neurogenic bowel training significantly improves constipation in stroke patients. Compared to neurogenic bowel training alone, the combined application of acupoint stimulation further improves bowel movements, reduces constipation severity, and enhances the quality of life in patients. Therefore, it is worthy of clinical promotion.

The importance and effectiveness of nutritional counselling in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases in Poland

BACKGROUND

Autoimmune thyroid diseases are the most common diseases in humans. Their pathogenesis is complex, pushing patients to search different ways of alleviating their effects, one of which is diet change. The aim of this study was to assess the role of medical personnel in shaping eating habits in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease based on experiences declared by patients.

METHODS

We examined 208 individuals, of which 205 were qualified for final investigation. We selected study participants using accidental sampling, based on their appearance in health care facilities, including the ones providing endocrinological advices. The relationships between the qualitative features were tested using the Chi-square test of independence, assuming the significance level of p < 0.05. In the case of the expected cardinality  < 10, the Chi-square test with correction for Yates continuity was used, while for the cardinality  < 5-the Fisher exact test.

RESULTS

People with thyroid disease are statistically more likely to use dietitian advice than people without thyroid disease. The highest percentage of respondents decided to modify their nutrition due to their own initiative. In addition, patients with autoimmune thyroid disease are statistically more likely to consider changing their diet to improve their well-being. The connection between the source of advice and modification of eating behaviour was also noted.

CONCLUSION

Thanks to the joint effort of medical staff, patients can receive reliable knowledge about their disease, treatment and nutrition adapted to their needs. Trial registration approved by the Bioethics Committee of Medical University of Silesia in Katowice (opinion no.: PCN/0022/KB1/80/2).

Combination of laparoscopic side-to-end colorectal anastomosis and vaginal nose (natural orifice specimen extraction) surgery for colorectal endometriosis: Technique and outcomes

Objective:

To investigate the effectiveness of combining side-to-end anastomosis and vaginal NOSE (Natural orifice specimen extraction) surgery in colorectal endometriosis.

Material and methods:

We included 11 patients treated with laparoscopic side-to-end colorectal anastomosis and vaginal NOSE surgery between January 2019 and May 2021. We questioned the visual analog score (VAS) for pain symptoms, the short form-36 (SF-36) for health survey questionnaire, The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), EHP-5 for endometriosis health profile, The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), OAB-V8 for overactive bladder symptoms and Constipation Severity Instrument (CSI).

Results:

VAS, EHP-5, and SF-36 scores were better at postoperative third and sixth months than preoperative values ( p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in terms of FSFI, OAB-V8, HADS, and the CSI.

Conclusions:

Laparoscopic side-to-end anastomosis with vaginal NOSE surgery is feasible, scarless, and could be offered to patients with deep symptomatic bowel endometriosis.

Efficacy of Electro-acupuncture in Treatment of Functional Constipation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Functional constipation (FC) is a chronic disease that significantly affects the life quality of patients. Acupuncture has been used for the treatment of FC for many years, but its effectiveness has not been scientifically assessed. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of electro-acupuncture (EA) in relieving the symptoms, mental states and quality of life (QOL) of FC patients. A total of 96 FC patients were randomly allocated into EA, mosapride & sham EA group (MS) and mosapride control group (MC). In the EA group, patients were treated with 16 sessions of needling at Quchi (LI11) and Shangjuxu (ST37) bilaterally, 5 times a week in the first 2 weeks, and 3 times a week in the last 2 weeks. In the MC group, patients were treated with 5 mg mosapride citrate three times a day for 4 weeks. In the MS group, patients underwent sham EA and the same mosapride citrate treatment as in the MC group. The primary outcome was the number of weekly spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs). The secondary outcomes included stool consistency, intensity of defecating difficulty, 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the validated Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life (PAC-QOL). The results showed that as compared with the baseline, EA significantly improved the weekly SBMs, stool consistency and intensity of defecating difficulty (P<0.05). It also partly ameliorated the PAC-QOL, SF-36, SDS and SAS scores when compared with MC or MS group (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between MS and MC groups in bowel function outcomes and QOL scores. It was concluded that EA could effectively improve bowel function, mental states and QOL of FC patients.