Predictive factors for compliance with transanal irrigation for the treatment of defecation disorders

AIM: To investigate compliance with transanal irrigation (TAI) one year after a training session and to identify predictive factors for compliance. METHODS: The compliance of one hundred eight patients [87 women and 21 men; median age 55 years (range 18-83)] suffering from constipation or fecal incontinence (FI) was retrospectively assessed. The patients were trained in TAI over a four-year period at a single institution. They were classified as adopters if they continued using TAI for at least one year after beginning the treatment or as non-adopters if they stopped. Predictive factors of compliance with TAI were based on pretreatment assessments and training progress. The outcomes of the entire cohort of patients who had been recruited for the TAI treatment were expressed in terms of intention-to-treat. CONCLUSION: The progress of the training session was the only factor that predicted patient compliance with TAI.