Table 2.
Bowel function. Cleveland Constipation Score is listed as the total score as well as the individual 8 items of the score.
| Spinal cord injury, n = 21 | Chronic idiopathic constipation, n = 15 | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total gastrointestinal transit time, median (range), score 0–6.5 | 3.6 (1.3–6.4) | 2.8 (1.3–6.4) | 0.48 |
| Cleveland Constipation Score, median (range), score 0–30 | 11 (4–16) | 15 (9–25) | 0.01 |
| Frequency of bowel movements, n | |||
| 1-2 times per 1-2 days | 16 | 5 | <0.000 |
| 2 times per week | 4 | 0 | |
| Once per week | 1 | 7 | |
| Less than once per week | 0 | 2 | |
| Less than once per month | 0 | 1 | |
| Difficulty: painful evacuation effort, n | |||
| Never | 13 | 3 | 0.021 |
| Rarely | 4 | 1 | |
| Sometimes | 2 | 3 | |
| Usually | 1 | 4 | |
| Always | 1 | 4 | |
| Completeness: feeling incomplete evacuation, n | |||
| Never | 7 | 1 | 0.28 |
| Rarely | 2 | 1 | |
| Sometimes | 4 | 2 | |
| Usually | 2 | 3 | |
| Always | 6 | 8 | |
| Pain: abdominal pain, n | |||
| Never | 7 | 2 | 0.41 |
| Rarely | 3 | 1 | |
| Sometimes | 4 | 2 | |
| Usually | 5 | 6 | |
| Always | 2 | 4 | |
| Time: minutes in lavatory per attempt, n | |||
| Less than 5 | 1 | 2 | 0.69 |
| 5–10 | 6 | 4 | |
| 10–20 | 3 | 4 | |
| 20–30 | 6 | 2 | |
| More than 30 | 5 | 3 | |
| Assistance: type of assistance | |||
| Without assistance | 3 | 3 | 0.001 |
| Oral laxatives | 3 | 10 | |
| Digital assistance or enema | 15 | 2 | |
| Failure: unsuccessful attempts for evacuation per 24 hours | |||
| Never | 11 | 11 | 0.39 |
| 1–3 | 9 | 4 | |
| 3–6 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6–9 | 0 | 0 | |
| More than 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| History: duration of constipation (years) | |||
| 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.26 |
| 1–5 | 9 | 4 | |
| 5–10 | 4 | 2 | |
| 10–20 | 1 | 5 | |
| More than 20 | 4 | 3 |