CHICAGO — Despite a high prevalence of most bowel symptoms among women seeking urogynecologic care, few tell their physicians about their symptoms, according to a study of 463 patients.
The finding indicates that “bowel symptoms should be evaluated in all women presenting for urogynecologic care,” Dr. Fareesa Raza-Khan of Washington University, St. Louis, reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society. The study was conducted by researchers at Washington University and Loyola University Chicago, Maywood.
Although only 3% of patients presenting to a uro-gynecologic clinic had a bowel symptom as their primary complaint, 76% reported at least one bowel symptom on nonvalidated and validated questionnaires.
Researchers reviewed the charts of 463 consecutive new patients ranging in age from 19 to 94 years (median age, 56) with a body mass index range of 16–64 kg/m
The most frequent symptoms were difficult bowel movements (42%), flatal incontinence (34%), and fecal incontinence (19%). Dr. Raza-Khan reported that she had no conflicts of interest.