CLINICAL-ASSESSMENT OF THE ANAL CONTINENCE PLUG

Recently, promising results with different modifications of an anal co ntinence plug were reported in a pilot study. We have performed a clin ical assessment of the plug preferred by the majority of patients in t his study in an ambulatory group of patients incontinent to liquid and solid stool. Nine of 14 patients (64 percent; 95 percent confidence i nterval: 35-87 percent) were continent when they used the plug. In 43 percent (18-71 percent), the plug occasionally slipped out, and 71 per cent (42-92 percent) experienced discomfort to a varying degree, which caused 11 patients to withdraw from the study before the end of the p lanned study period. No correlation was found between the results of a norectal physiology studies and the benefit or inconvenience of using the plug. The overall conclusion is that the majority of patients woul d use the plug under special circumstances because it eliminates the f ear of fecal leakage but that local discomfort, possibly due to the ma terial, would prevent its daily use.