Fecal Incontinence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Understanding of the prevalence, pathophysiology, and management of fecal incontinence (FI) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients without an ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is suboptimal. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence, pathophysiology, and management of primary FI in IBD patients without IPAA.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1966 through March 2017) for studies on the prevalence, physiology, or management of FI in IBD patients without IPAA. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled prevalence rates and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed with I2 statistics, Cochran Q statistic, and sensitivity analyses.

Results: Seventeen studies were included. Six studies evaluated the prevalence of FI in 4671 IBD patients. There was significant heterogeneity among the studies, but the pooled prevalence of FI among case-control studies was homogeneous at 24% (95% CI 18%-30%, I2 = 50.6%, P = 0.16). FI was more common among IBD patients than non-IBD controls (OR = 7.73; 95% CI 6.26 to 9.84). Therapeutic options were poorly evaluated in uncontrolled studies. Surgery was effective in 70% of patients (7/10), sacral nerve stimulation was effective in 100% of patients (5/5), and 41.6% of patients (5/12) reported subjective improvement in FI with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation.

Conclusions: FI is prevalent in IBD patients without IPAA, and more common than non-IBD controls. Additional controlled studies are warranted to further identify effective therapeutic interventions for FI in IBD. 10.1093/ibd/izx109_video1izx109_Video_15760611117001.