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. 2024 Jul 30;8(3):179-187.
doi: 10.23922/jarc.2023-061. eCollection 2024.

Comparison of the Fecal Incontinence Severity Scores between Self-administration by Patients and an Oral Interview by a Physician

Akira Tsunoda  1 , Hiroshi Kusanagi  1
Affiliations

Comparison of the Fecal Incontinence Severity Scores between Self-administration by Patients and an Oral Interview by a Physician

Akira Tsunoda et al. J Anus Rectum Colon. .

Abstract

Objectives: To compare patients' self-administered responses to the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index (FISI) questionnaire (A1) with their responses to physician's oral interview (A3).

Methods: Patients (n=100: mean age: 72 years; 66 women) with FI completed the FISI and the modified FISI (with written explanations) questionnaires, followed by a physician interview. To identify a threshold for the rating gap between A1 and A3, we calculated each patient's mean difference in the FISI scores.

Results: There was no significant difference in the FISI scores between A1 and A3. A rating gap existed in the FISI scores (mean difference=8.9). It occurred in 37% of the patients, making its threshold 9. Multivariate analysis revealed that older age and no history of pelvic floor surgery were independently associated with the presence of a rating gap in the FISI scores. The in-coincidence of ticked boxes to all types of leakage between the self-administered responses and those by physician's oral history was 49% (197/400). Older age was associated with the in-coincidence of a ticked box between the assessment results of gas or solid stool leakage.

Conclusions: Some non-negligible discrepancy existed between patients' self-administered responses and their responses to physician's oral interview, especially in older patients.

Keywords: fecal incontinence; patient's self-administered responses; responses of patients by physician's oral interview.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mean difference between the FISI scores based on self-administration by patients and based on oral interview by a physician. FISI, Fecal Incontinence Severity Index; bar, standard error. Mean value is 8.9 (standard error 0.94).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Number of patients based on the difference between the FISI scores obtained by self-administration by patients and the responses of patients by physician’s oral interview. FISI, Fecal Incontinence Severity Index; a, A total of 37 patients who showed a rating gap (≥9) in the FISI scores.
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