Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;46(3):1285-1290.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-024-07888-9. Epub 2024 Nov 20.

Innovative multidisciplinary tool for screening bowel and bladder symptoms in multiple sclerosis

Giampaolo Brichetto  1   2 , Stefania Musco  3 , Margherita Monti Bragadin  4   5 , Erica Grange  5 , Gianfranco Lamberti  6 , Vincenzo Pedace  7 , Sara Rinaldi  7 ; DELPHI Panel Members
Collaborators, Affiliations

Innovative multidisciplinary tool for screening bowel and bladder symptoms in multiple sclerosis

Giampaolo Brichetto et al. Neurol Sci. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Bowel and bladder symptoms are frequent in people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) and early diagnosis and treatment become crucial to improve their quality of life (QoL). The study aims to design a multidisciplinary questionnaire for screening bladder and bowel symptoms in PwMS.

Materials and methods: The Bowel and Bladder Symptoms Screening in Multiple Sclerosis (BBSS-MS) questionnaire for screening bowel and bladder symptoms was designed in Italian following a three-steps process. In the first step, a dedicated board of experts identified a pool of items, which will be analysed for content, clarity, and consistency during the second step. During the third step, the relevance of each item was evaluated through a two-round process following the Delphi method. For each round of the Delphi method, medians, the 25th and 75th percentiles, and the IQR of the score for each statement were calculated. Stata 16.1 software was used to conduct all analyses.

Results: The Board identified 22 items to include in the BBSS-MS, based on existing questionnaire and clinical expertise. After discussing about the comprehensibility and clarity of items, the first version of the BBSS-MS composed of 22 items was proposed. Following, a Panel of 44 experts scored the relevance of each question and all the questions reached the score to be included in the questionnaire. The final 21-item version of the BBSS-MS was proposed.

Discussion and conclusion: To our knowledge, the BBSS-MS represents the first self-reported hybrid questionnaire for screening bladder and bowel symptoms in an Italian MS population.

Keywords: Bladder dysfunction; Bowel dysfunction; Delphi method; Multiple sclerosis; Questionnaire; Screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical statement: This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. Conflict of interest: AISM members have indirect conflict of interest with Coloplast. Coloplast confirms that the manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors. Coloplast full responsibility for the work being reported.

References

    1. McGinley MP, Goldschmidt CH, Rae-Grant AD (2021) Diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis: a review. JAMA 325:765–779. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.26858 - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Sèze M, Ruffion A, Denys P et al (2007) The neurogenic bladder in multiple sclerosis: review of the literature and proposal of management guidelines. Mult Scler 13:915–928. https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458506075651 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Panicker JN, Fowler CJ, Kessler TM (2015) Lower urinary tract dysfunction in the neurological patient: clinical assessment and management. Lancet Neurol 14:720–732. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00070-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Grasso MG, Pozzilli C, Anzini A et al (1991) Relationship between bladder dysfunction and brain MRI in multiple sclerosis. Funct Neurol 6:289–292 - PubMed
    1. Akkoç Y, Bardak AN, Yıldız N et al (2023) The relationship between severity of overactive bladder symptoms and cognitive dysfunction, anxiety and depression in female patients with multiple sclerosis: Running head: OAB-V8, BICAMS and HAD scale in MS. Mult Scler Relat Disord 70:104476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2022.104476 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources