ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2016 October;175(10):421-6

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The effect of functional magnetic stimulation in stroke patients with chronic constipation

Yong S. YOON ^{1, 2}, Eun S. KIM ^{1, 2}, Jong H. CHOI ¹, Ji H. JEON ¹, Michael Y. LEE ³, Kwang J. LEE ^{1, 2}

¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Presbyterian Medical Center, Seonam University College of Medicine, Jeonju, South Korea; ² Medical Device Clinical Trial Center, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, South Korea; ³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UNC Health Care, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

BACKGROUND: Constipation after stroke is not uncommon, and there are several treatment method, but the effects are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of functional magnetic stimulation (FMS) in stroke patients with chronic constipation.
METHODS: Twelve stroke patients (8 male, 4 female, median age 63 years) with chronic constipation, who were admitted to the rehabilitation department from March 2012 to March 2013, were evaluated by colon transit time (CTT), defecation frequency and stool type, and the Korean version of the modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) before and after FMS.
RESULTS: Total CTT significantly decreased from 67.3±4.2 hours to 48.0±9.5 hours, and the segmental CTTs of the left and right colon were significantly reduced from 26.8±13.1 hours to 16.7±9.0 hours, and 25.4±10.9 hours to 17.0±4.7 hours, respectively. Defecation frequency showed a statistically significant increase (P<0.05) from 1.95±0.45 times to 3.58±0.69 times per week. Stool type showed a statistically significant change (P<0.05) from 1.83±0.72 to 3.5±0.52 after two weeks of stimulation.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that FMS can be an additional effective treatment method for stroke patients with chronic constipation. FMS can be applied as an additional treatment method for stroke patients with chronic constipation.