Constipation and Biofeedback; Important Gastrointestinal Symptom but Ignored Initial Managemen

Abstract

Constipation is the most common digestive complaint in the general population and its etiology is diverse. Defecatory disorder is a common type of constipation where the patient has difficulty during evacuation due to ineffective relaxation of the anal sphincter and/or inadequate abdominal push. Biofeedback therapy for constipation is a technique used to train a patient's mind to control the way their anorectum works. Biofeedback therapy is unfortunately not available in many centers and also not widely recommended by the physicians although its response rate in the treatment of constipation is about 70-80%. Here, the constipation and biofeedback therapy are shortly reviewed under the light of recent literature and, our study observing the percentage of patients who performed BFT in real world upon recommendation and its clinical response rate in our center for anorectal disease as well as the barriers to biofeedback is discussed.