Fecal incontinence in elderly patients: common, treatable, yet often undiagnosed.
It is important for primary care physicians to take fecal incontinence seriously and not dismiss it as a normal part of aging. Elderly patients may be reluctant to admit fecal incontinence, so clinicians need to ask about it. Two of the most common causes are fecal impaction (especially in nursing home patients) and rectosphincter dysfunction in people with diabetes.
Stevens
Tyler K
TK
Department of Gastroenterology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH 44195, USA.
Soffer
Edy E
EE
Palmer
Robert M
RM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000502:physiology*; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D002400:Cathartics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003672:Defecation / Q000502:physiology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004733:Enema; D005244:Fecal Impaction / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry
D002400:Cathartics