Pouch dynamics - a simple test of ileo-anal pouch evacuation

Abstract

A simple technique for quantifying ileo-anal pouch evacuation has been used to compare patients with good pouch function and fully spontaneous defaecation (n=10) to patients with a symptomatic disorder of pouch evacuation (n=10), usually due to a pouch-anal stricture (n=7). Pouch emptying was significantly less efficient in those with disordered evacuation (median 54% evacuated) than in those with good function (median 98% evacuated, p=0.02) and significantly slower (median 22.4 sec vs 5.2 sec to evacuate 75% of instilled barium, p<0.02) even when of comparable efficiency. Testing of four further patients with high stool frequency but neither stenosis nor symptomatic difficulty with evacuati..