Maximum anal sphincter strength measured by the solid sphere test and anal pressure profiles.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate two methods of quantifying external anal sphincter function.


METHODS
Open study.


METHODS
Helsingborg Hospital, Sweden.


METHODS
73 patients (63 women and 10 men), of whom 25 were incontinent of gas and liquid or solid stool.


METHODS
Anal pressure profiles and the "solid sphere" test.


METHODS
Correlation between results of tests and presence of incontinence.


RESULTS
Continent patients were younger than incontinent ones. The correlation between the maximum force the patient could retain and the maximum anal squeeze pressure was good (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). Younger continent patients (n = 48) and significantly higher pressures than incontinent patients (n = 25), but the range and overlap were wide. The reproducibility of both methods was good.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the solid sphere test is easier and quicker to do, anal pressure profiles yield more information that is important in the evaluation of incontinence.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Malmö General Hospital, Sweden.
K
K
Haadem
J A
JA
Dahlström
L
L
Ling
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000502:physiology*; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D011312:Pressure; D012044:Regression Analysis