Faecal incontinence and health related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease patients: Findings from a tertiary care center in South Asia

AIM: To analyze the frequency and severity of faecal incontinence(FI) and its effect on the quality of life(QOL) in inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) patients. METHODS: All patients who attended surgical and medical gastroenterology outpatient clinics in a tertiary care center with an established diagnosis of either ulcerative colitis(UC) or Crohn’s disease(CD) over a period of 10 mo were included in this study. Before enrollment into the study, the patients were explained about the study and informed consent was obtained. The patients with unidentified colitis were excluded. The data on demographics, disease characteristics, FI(Vaizey score), and quality of life(IBD-Q) were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.RESULTS: There were 184 patients(women = 101, 54.9%; UC = 153, 83.2%) with a female preponderance for UC(male/female ratio = 1:1.5) and a male preponderance for CD(male/female = 2:1). Forty-eight(26%) patients reported symptoms of FI. Among the patients with FI, 70.8% were women(n = 34) and 29.2% were men(n = 14) with an average age of 52.7 years(range, 20-78 years). Average age of onset of FI was 48.6(range, 22-74) years. Ten percent(n = 5) reported regular FI. Incontinence to flatus was seen in 33.3%(n = 16), to liquid faeces in 56.2%(n = 27), to solid faeces in 6.2%(n = 3) and to all three in 4.1%(n = 2). Twenty-one percent(n = 10) complained of disruption of their physical and social activity. There was no association between FI and type of IBD. Significant associations were found between FI and age(P = 0.005) and gender(P < 0.001). QOL in our cohort of patients was significantly affected by FI.CONCLUSION: In our study, nearly a quarter of patients reported FI. There was a significant correlation between FI and QOL. Therefore, enquiring about FI in IBD patients can lead to identification of this debilitating condition. This will enable early referral for continence care in this group of patients.