Colonoscopic lesions in patients with spinal cord injury

Consequences of spinal cord injury on the sympathetic nervous system

Spinal cord injury (SCI) damages multiple structures at the lesion site, including ascending, descending, and propriospinal axons; interrupting the conduction of information up and down the spinal cord. Additionally, axons associated with the autonomic nervous system that control involuntary physiological functions course through the spinal cord. Moreover, sympathetic, and parasympathetic preganglionic neurons reside in the spinal cord. Thus, depending on the level of an SCI, autonomic function can be greatly impacted by the trauma resulting in dysfunction of various organs. For example, SCI can lead to dysregulation of a variety of organs, such as the pineal gland, the heart and vasculature, lungs, spleen, kidneys, and bladder. Indeed, it is becoming more apparent that many disorders that negatively affect quality-of-life for SCI individuals have a basis in dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Here, we will review how SCI impacts the sympathetic nervous system and how that negatively impacts target organs that receive sympathetic innervation. A deeper understanding of this may offer potential therapeutic insight into how to improve health and quality-of-life for those living with SCI.

Recommendations for evaluation of neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction after spinal cord injury and/or disease

Objective: To provide an overview of clinical assessments and diagnostic tools, self-report measures (SRMs) and data sets used in neurogenic bladder and bowel (NBB) dysfunction and recommendations for their use with persons with spinal cord injury /disease (SCI/D).Methods: Experts in SCI/D conducted literature reviews, compiled a list of NBB related assessments and measures, reviewed their psychometric properties, discussed their use in SCI/D and issued recommendations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Common Data Elements (CDEs) guidelines.Results: Clinical assessments included 15 objective tests and diagnostic tools for neurogenic bladder and 12 for neurogenic bowel. Following a two-phase evaluation, eight SRMs were selected for final review with the Qualiveen and Short-Form (SF) Qualiveen and the Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction Score (NBDS) being recommended as supplemental, highly-recommended due to their strong psychometrics and extensive use in SCI/D. Two datasets and other SRM measures were recommended as supplemental.Conclusion: There is no one single measure that can be used to assess NBB dysfunction across all clinical research studies. Clinical and diagnostic tools are here recommended based on specific medical needs of the person with SCI/D. Following the CDE for SCI studies guidelines, we recommend both the SF-Qualiveen for bladder and the NBDS for bowel as relatively short measures with strong psychometrics. Other measures are also recommended. A combination of assessment tools (objective and subjective) to be used jointly across the spectrum of care seems critical to best capture changes related to NBB and develop better treatments.

National Survey of Bladder and Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in People with Spinal Cord Injury

Small-scale studies indicate that spinal cord injury (SCI) may lead to significant gastrointestinal and bladder dysfunction. However, how the prevalence of chronic disease related to these dysfunctions compares with non-SCI individuals and whether there are robust relationships to level and severity of injury are still unclear. Here, our goal was to provide high-level evidence on the association between bladder and gastrointestinal dysfunction and SCI using population-level data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the SCI Community Survey. Data from more than 60,000 individuals in the 2010 CCHS and 1500 individuals with SCI from the SCI Community Survey were analyzed. We used bi-variable and multi-variable logistic regression to examine relationships between explanatory and outcome variables. We found that SCI was associated with increased odds of urinary incontinence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.4-7.1), bowel disorders (aOR = 2.3, CI: 1.5-3.4), as well as gastric ulcers (aOR: 3.3, CI: 2.1-4.8), even after adjusting for key confounding variables. Additionally, we found that complete SCI was associated with increased odds of urinary tract infections (aOR = 2.0, CI: 1.6-2.5) and bowel incontinence (aOR = 2.1, CI: 1.7-2.6). Individuals with SCI are at increased odds for having bladder and gastrointestinal dysfunction, certain aspects of which are dependent on the level and severity of injury. Targeted intervention and prevention strategies to manage bladder and bowel problems after SCI should be a priority for both caregivers and policy makers.

Bowel Dysfunction in Spinal Cord Injury

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To evaluate and report current evidence regarding the management of bowel dysfunction in spinal cord injury. There is a paucity of high-quality large studies on which to base management advice.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent research has focused on defining the nature of symptomatology of bowel dysfunction in SCI and describing the effects on quality of life and social interactions. Technical aspects of colonoscopy have received attention, and aspects of understanding the pathophysiology in relation to both neural and non-neural dysfunction have been studied. There has been refinement and expansion of the pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for bowel dysfunction in SCI. Management of bowel dysfunction in SCI requires a comprehensive and individualized approach, encompassing lifestyle, toileting routine, stimulation, diet, medications, and surgery. Further high-quality research is required to inform best practice.

Colonic stasis and chronic constipation: Demystifying proposed risk factors for colon polyp formation in a spinal cord injury veteran population

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffer significant morbidity from neurogenic bowel. Chronic constipation has long-been a proposed risk factor for polyp development. We performed a retrospective cohort study in veterans with SCI to assess polyp presence in the setting of colonic stasis.

METHODS

All consecutive patients at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital with SCI and neurogenic bowel who completed screening colonoscopy between January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2013 were included. Colonoscopies were excluded if they were aborted, not completed to the cecum, of less than adequate preparation, or if polypectomy was precluded. Patient data included level, duration, and completeness of SCI. Polyp data included number, location, and histology.

RESULTS

325 patients ultimately met inclusion criteria. Most were male (96%). The average age at screening colonoscopy was 62.8 years. The majority of patients had injury to the cervical spine (41.5%). Colon polyps were detected in 130 patients (40%). Adenomatous change was seen in 95 (73%) of these patients. The adenoma detection rate (ADR) across all patients was 29.2%. Polyp presence and ADR demonstrated no statistically significant correlation with level, degree, or duration of SCI. Only patient age at time of screening colonoscopy had a significant correlation with polyp and adenoma presence (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

SCI had no statistically significant correlation with polyp or adenoma presence. The ADR in our veteran SCI population with chronic constipation is comparable with that reported in the general population.

A safe and effective multi-day colonoscopy bowel preparation for individuals with spinal cord injuries

CONTEXT/OBJECTIVE

Colonoscopy with polypectomy is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), but poor bowel cleansing limits the diagnostic yield of the procedure. Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently have suboptimal bowel cleansing with standard pre-colonoscopy bowel preparation regimens. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of a multi-day inpatient bowel preparation regimen in a population of patients with SCI.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

SETTING

VA Puget Sound SCI Center.

PARTICIPANTS

All patients with SCI (n = 53) who underwent inpatient colonoscopy at the VA Puget Sound from July 12, 2013 to February 12, 2015.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Patient characteristics, tolerance of full bowel preparation, pre- and post-bowel preparation electrolyte values, adverse events, and adequacy of bowel cleansing were abstracted.

RESULTS

Sixty-eight percent of patients had a cervical level of injury and the majority were either American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A (41%) or D (43%). The full bowel preparation was tolerated by 91% of inpatients. In those with pre- and post-bowel preparation laboratory testing, there were small, but statistically significant decreases in serum calcium and phosphate. No patient had symptoms associated with electrolyte abnormalities or required treatment. Five out of 53 inpatients experienced autonomic dysreflexia (AD) during bowel preparation. Eighty-nine percent of patients had adequate bowel cleansing at colonoscopy.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate a safe and effective inpatient bowel preparation regimen in a SCI population. The regimen was associated with mild, asymptomatic hypophosphatemia and hypocalcemia. AD was an uncommon event, predominantly occurring in patients who experienced frequent AD episodes at baseline.

Colorectal cancer screening in patients with spinal cord injury yields similar results to the general population with an effective bowel preparation: a retrospective chart audit

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective chart audit.

OBJECTIVES

To compare adequacy of colonoscopy bowel preparation and diagnostic findings between persons with SCI receiving an extended inpatient bowel preparation and the general population.

SETTING

Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle, WA, USA.

METHODS

We reviewed an electronic database of all colonoscopies performed at a tertiary Veterans Affairs medical center between 7/12/13 and 15/10/15. Patients with SCI received a multi-day bowel preparation with magnesium citrate, and 8-10 liters of polyethylene glycol-3350 and electrolyte colonic lavage solution (PEG-ELS) over two and one half days. The control population received a standard bowel preparation consisting of magnesium citrate and 4 liters of PEG-ELS over 1 day.

RESULTS

Two hundred and fifty-five patients were included in the study, including 85 patients with SCI. Average risk screening was a more common colonoscopy indication in patients with SCI vs. the control population (24 vs. 13% p = 0.03). There was no difference in adequacy of bowel preparation (87 vs. 85%, p = 0.73) or adenoma detection rate (55 vs. 51%, p = 0.59) when comparing patients with SCI with the control population. No difference in polyp histopathology was detected (p = 0.748).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that an extended bowel preparation for patients with SCI produces similar bowel preparation results and diagnostic yield when compared to patients without SCI undergoing colonoscopy.

Multiple organ dysfunction and systemic inflammation after spinal cord injury: a complex relationship

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event that results in significant physical disabilities for affected individuals. Apart from local injury within the spinal cord, SCI patients develop a variety of complications characterized by multiple organ dysfunction or failure. These disorders, such as neurogenic pain, depression, lung injury, cardiovascular disease, liver damage, kidney dysfunction, urinary tract infection, and increased susceptibility to pathogen infection, are common in injured patients, hinder functional recovery, and can even be life threatening. Multiple lines of evidence point to pathological connections emanating from the injured spinal cord, post-injury systemic inflammation, and immune suppression as important multifactorial mechanisms underlying post-SCI complications. SCI triggers systemic inflammatory responses marked by increased circulation of immune cells and pro-inflammatory mediators, which result in the infiltration of inflammatory cells into secondary organs and persistence of an inflammatory microenvironment that contributes to organ dysfunction. SCI also induces immune deficiency through immune organ dysfunction, resulting in impaired responsiveness to pathogen infection. In this review, we summarize current evidence demonstrating the relevance of inflammatory conditions and immune suppression in several complications frequently seen following SCI. In addition, we highlight the potential pathways by which inflammatory and immune cues contribute to multiple organ failure and dysfunction and discuss current anti-inflammatory approaches used to alleviate post-SCI complications. A comprehensive review of this literature may provide new insights into therapeutic strategies against complications after SCI by targeting systemic inflammation.

Risk of Nongenitourinary Cancers in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury: A Population-based Cohort Study

Little information is available regarding the risk of nongenitourinary (GU) cancers in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). The authors conducted a nationwide population-based study to investigate whether a higher risk of non-GU cancer is seen among patients with SCI.Data retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan were used in this study. A total of 41,900 patients diagnosed with SCI between 2000 and 2011 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database and comprised the SCI cohort. Each of these patients was randomly frequency matched with 4 people from the general population (without SCI) according to age, sex, comorbidities, and index year. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals and determine how SCI affected non-GU cancer risk.No significant difference in overall non-GU cancer risk was observed between the SCI and control groups. The patients with SCI exhibited a significantly higher risk of developing esophageal, liver, and hematologic malignancies compared with those without SCI. By contrast, the SCI cohort had a significantly lower risk of colorectal cancer compared with the non-SCI cohort (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval = 0.69-0.93). Additional stratified analyses by sex, age, and follow-up duration revealed various correlations between SCI and non-GU cancer risk.The patients with SCI exhibited higher risk of esophageal, liver, and hematologic malignancies but a lower risk of colorectal cancer compared with those without SCI. The diverse patterns of cancer risk among the patients with SCI may be related to the complications of chronic SCI.

Comparison between pulsed irrigation enhanced evacuation and polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage solution for bowel preparation prior to elective colonoscopy in veterans with spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND

Poor preparation for elective colonoscopy is common in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). This unsatisfactory outcome is likely due to long-standing difficulty with evacuation and decreased colonic motility. Our objective was to determine the most effective preparation for elective colonoscopy applying a novel and traditional approach to bowel cleansing.

METHODS

Twenty-four subjects with SCI were consented and scheduled to receive one of the two possible arms: pulsed irrigation enhanced evacuation (PIEE) or polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage solution (PEG; CoLyte(®)). The quality of the preparation was scored during the colonoscopy by applying the Ottawa scoring system.

RESULTS

Patients with SCI who received PIEE tended to have lower Ottawa scores and a higher percentage of acceptable preparations than did those who received PEG; however, the results were not statistically different.

CONCLUSION

In this preliminary study in subjects with SCI, neither PIEE nor PEG produced acceptable bowel preparation for elective colonoscopy. Future studies should confirm our findings and consider studying alternative, more efficacious approaches to bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopic procedures in patients with SCI, which should provide better outcomes. Registration number for clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00745095.

Colonoscopy after spinal cord injury: a case-control study

DESIGN

An age- and gender-matched case-control study.

OBJECTIVE

To compare colonoscopy after spinal cord injury (SCI) with the general population in terms of indications, bowel preparation, technical success and disease detection.

SETTING

Victoria, Australia.

METHODS

Consecutive SCI colonoscopies between January 1998 and February 2013 were compared with a randomly selected age- and gender-matched control group. Injury level, indication for procedure and demographics were collected. Outcome measures included quality of bowel preparation, completion rates, procedural duration and benign and malignant disease detection.

RESULTS

A total of 440 colonoscopies were assessed, comprising 148 SCI patients and 292 age- and gender-matched controls. Both the groups were of similar age (54.7 years vs 54.5 years, P=0.906) and comprised predominantly males (87.1% vs 86.3%, P=0.919). SCI colonoscopies were more often performed to investigate abnormalities (85.1% vs 58.2%, P<0.001) than for screening or surveillance (18.2% vs 40.8%, P<0.001). Unsatisfactory bowel preparation was recorded more often in the SCI group (36.0% vs 13.0%, P<0.001) and completion rates were lower (75.7% vs 93.1%, P<0.001). Overall disease detection was lower in the SCI group (45.3% vs 59.6%, P<0.006). The polyp detection rate was lower for SCI (11.4% vs 25.3%, P=0.001). The rate of diagnosis of malignancy was equivalent (2.7% vs 3.0%, P=0.904).

CONCLUSION

SCI patients have the same risk of malignancy as the general population and are less likely to undergo screening colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is then limited by poor bowel preparation and lower completion rates with a subsequent lower polyp detection rate.

Colonoscopy is high yield in spinal cord injury

OBJECTIVES/BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) can be prevented by routine colonoscopy. CRC screening in special populations, e.g. spinal cord injury and disorders, presents unique barriers and, potentially, a higher risk of complications. We were concerned about potentially higher risks of complications and sought to determine the safety of colonoscopy.

METHODS

Retrospective observational design using medical record review for 311 patients who underwent 368 colonoscopies from two large VA SCI centers from 1997-2008. Patient demographics and peri-procedural characteristics, including indication, bowel prep quality, and pathological findings are presented. Descriptive statistics are presented.

RESULTS

The population was predominantly male and Caucasian, and 199 (64%) had high-level injuries (T6 or above). Median age at colonoscopy was 61 years (interquartile range 53-69). Just <1/2 of the colonoscopies were diagnostic, usually for evidence of rectal bleeding. Although a majority of colonoscopies were reported as poorly prepped, the proportion that were adequately prepped increased over time (from 3.7 to 61.3%, P = <0.0001). Of the 146 polyps removed, 101 (69%) were adenomas or carcinomas. Ten subjects had 11 complications, none of which required surgical intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Although providing quality colonoscopic care in this population is labor intensive, the data suggests that it appears safe and therapeutically beneficial. The results indicate that the risk of screening is outweighed by the likelihood of finding polyps. Recognition of the benefit of colonoscopy in this population may have improved bowel prep and reporting over time. Spinal cord injury providers should continue to offer screening or diagnostic colonoscopy to their patients when indicated, while being aware of the special challenges that they face.