Effective management of acute faecal incontinence in hospital: review of continence management systems

This paper reviews the scientific literature regarding current systems available for the management of acute faecal incontinence (FI) in hospital patients. The review searched Medline from 1950 to October 2009 using the adapted search strategy, as devised by the Cochrane Incontinence Group, in order to identify studies relevant to this review, yielding 197 records. Ten studies fitted the inclusion criteria with none of the studies being randomised control trials. Characteristics identified from the studies included: duration of the management devices, cost implications, length of patient stay, contraindications and patient assessment. The management of acute FI in acute settings is a relatively ignored problem, with little available evidence to support a standardised approach to its management. The review highlights the need for early identification of contraindications when FI management systems are being used, particularly in patients administered antithrombotic drugs such as aspirin.