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The aim of this study was to describe bowel problems, self-care practices, and information needs of patients who have recovered from the acute effects of sphincter-saving surgery for colorectal cancer. A retrospective, descriptive survey was conducted using a structured telephone interview and mailed questionnaires. The sample consisted of 101 patients who had undergone sphincter-saving surgery for colorectal cancer in the last 6 to 24 months. Most participants (71.3%) reported a change in bowel habits after surgery. The 6 most frequently reported gastrointestinal problems were incomplete evacuation (75.2%), excessive flatus (75.2%), urgency (73.3%), straining (61.4%), perianal soreness or itching (49.5%), and bloating (43.6%). Incontinence of feces (varying from smears to complete bowel action) was reported by 37.6% of participants. The most frequently reported information needs were related to diet (50.5%) and managing conditions such as diarrhea (31.7%), bloating/wind/gas (28.7%), pain (21.8%), and incomplete emptying of the bowel (18.8%). Patients who had recovered from the acute effects of sphincter-saving surgery for colorectal cancer reported a wide range of bowel problems and ongoing concerns about managing symptoms. Findings from this study provide valuable information to guide the development of educational resources to prevent or better manage bowel problems after surgery.

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The use of body surface area to assess the normalcy of cardiac dimensions has several limitations. To determine whether cardiac dimensions can be assessed by other indexes of body size and growth, this study evaluated the relations between cardiac dimensions assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography and age, height, weight and body surface area. The study group included 268 normal persons aged 6 days to 76 years of age. The dimensions examined included the aortic anulus, left atrium and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, each measured in the parasternal long-axis plane, and left ventricular length measured from the apical two-chamber view. The analysis confirmed that the heart and great vessels grow in unison and at a predictable rate after birth, reaching 50% of their adult dimensions at birth, 75% by 5 years and 90% by 12 years. Although each cardiac dimension related linearly with height (aortic anulus, r = 0.96; left atrium, r = 0.91; left ventricular diameter, r = 0.94; left ventricular length, r = 0.93), the relations among age, weight and body surface area were best expressed by quadratic equations. Multiple regression confirmed that after adjustment for height, other indexes including age, gender, weight and body surface area had no independent effect on the prediction of each dimension. Therefore, because height is a nonderived variable that relates linearly with cardiac dimensions independent of age, it offers a simple yet accurate means of assessing the normalcy of cardiac dimensions in children and adults.