Fecal Incontinence Bowel Management: Pediatric Bowel Management 2013
True fecal incontinence patients lack bowel control ability either congenitally or from acquired damage; pseudo incontinence is constipation with overflow soiling.
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Congenital true incontinence includes myelomeningocele, large sacrococcygeal tumors, absent sacrum, and anorectal malformations with sacral ratio <0.4, presacral mass, or tethered cord.
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Acquired true incontinence occurs in Hirschsprung patients with damaged anal canal or ARM patients with good prognosis who had complications (dehiscence) requiring reoperation.
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Treatment for true fecal incontinence is enema to artificially clean the colon and prevent bowel movements for 24 hours.
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Pseudo fecal incontinence patients have bowel control ability but suffer from constipation; treatment is laxatives, not enemas.
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A sacral ratio less than 0.4 predicts true fecal incontinence.
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Removing a presacral mass does not improve continence because the nerve damage from the sacral defect is the cause of incontinence, not the mass itself.
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Presacral masses must be resected because they can cause infection leading to meningitis or may be malignant, not to improve continence.
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If a presacral mass causes severe rectal compression and stricture, removing the mass does not cure the stricture; the stricture area must be resected and normal rectum pulled through.
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Tethered cord release does not improve bowel control; some neurosurgeons believe it may help bladder function, but this is controversial.
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There is no scientific consensus on tethered cord management; some neurosurgeons operate aggressively, others do not, and outcomes vary widely regardless of intervention.
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Contrast enema without bowel prep reveals two patient groups: dilated colon (slow motility) and non-dilated colon (hypermotility).
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Dilated colon patients need large-volume, concentrated enemas to clean but the colon stays quiet for 23 hours afterward.
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Non-dilated (hypermotile) colon patients need small-volume saline enemas plus loperamide, fiber, and constipating diet to keep the colon quiet.
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Enema base is saline 200–1000 mL; irritants are liquid glycerin 10–30 mL, Castile soap 9–36 mL, and phosphate (Fleet) as last resort due to risk of colitis.
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Fleet enema doses: ages 3–4 years use half pediatric Fleet (33 mL), 4–10 years one pediatric Fleet (66 mL), over 10 years adult Fleet (133 mL) to avoid electrolyte disturbances.
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Enema titration is a one-week trial-and-error process monitored by daily abdominal X-rays; the goal is a clean left colon and rectum post-enema.
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Never give laxatives and enemas simultaneously in fecal incontinence patients; laxatives cause unpredictable bowel movements after the enema, worsening incontinence.
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If underwear is soiled and X-ray shows stool in left colon, increase enema volume or concentration.
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If enema takes over 1 hour to produce bowel movement, increase concentration to make it more irritant.
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If patient has pain, nausea, or vomiting during enema with clean X-ray, decrease concentration; if X-ray not clean, slow administration and warm solution instead.
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If colon is clean on X-ray but patient still has accidents, the colon is hypermotile; add loperamide and constipating diet.
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Bowel management is about quality of life determined by the patient, not the doctor; some patients prefer managing through a stoma rather than undergoing pull-through.
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Malone procedure should only be offered after demonstrating that enema works; doing Malone without prior bowel management trial is incorrect.
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Saline is used as enema base instead of tap water because the colon absorbs water, risking electrolyte disturbances.
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Saline-only enemas often fail to produce bowel movements; irritants (glycerin, soap) are needed to provoke colonic contraction.
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For fecal impaction, disimpact with three concentrated enemas per day, not saline-only enemas.
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When evaluating post-enema X-rays, focus on left colon and rectum; stool in transverse or right colon is acceptable as it takes 24 hours to reach the rectum.
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Myelomeningocele patients typically have non-dilated or redundant colons on contrast enema, not dilated colons, even when constipated and incontinent.
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Neuronal intestinal dysplasia (NID) lacks scientific validity: no topographic studies define disease extent, no standard treatment exists, and pathologists disagree on diagnosis.
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