Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) for treatment of constipation in children

Abstract

The results for the outcomes assessed in this review are uncertain. Thus no firm conclusions regarding the efficacy and safety of TES in children with chronic constipation can be drawn. Further randomized controlled trials assessing TES for the management of childhood constipation should be conducted. Future trials should include clear documentation of methodologies, especially measures to evaluate the effectiveness of blinding, and incorporate patient-important outcomes such as the number of patients with improved CSBM, improved clinical symptoms and quality of life.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial of Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation With Pelvic Floor Exercises in the Treatment of Childhood Constipation

“…Improvement in the symptoms revealed the role of PTNS with PFE in childhood constipation. Although no firm conclusions regarding the efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical stimulation in children with constipation has been drawn (24), in this study, the efficacy of PTNS with PFE in childhood constipation has been verified. The higher efficacy of PTNS with PFE may have resulted from the recruitment inclusion criteria.…”

Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on physical symptoms in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care

“…In terms of constipation, several reports have shown the benefit of tibial or sacral nerve stimulation by TENS for chronic constipation (Iqbal et al, 2015;Ng et al, 2016;Yik et al, 2016). However, other reports have found no effect of TENS on chronic constipation (Kumar et al, 2016;Ng et al, 2016). In this study, the effect of TENS on constipation, a side effect of opioid treatment in advanced cancer patients, was investigated, but no effect was found.…”

“…This discrepancy may be due to differences in the frequency of electrical stimulating: this study adopted 100 Hz, given the TENS machine used, while the previous study used TENS at 4 Hz (Lau and Jones, 2008); the influence of TENS on the central nervous system differs between low-and high-frequency stimulation (Sluka et al, 1999). In terms of constipation, several reports have shown the benefit of tibial or sacral nerve stimulation by TENS for chronic constipation (Iqbal et al, 2015;Ng et al, 2016;Yik et al, 2016). However, other reports have found no effect of TENS on chronic constipation (Kumar et al, 2016;Ng et al, 2016).…”

Treatments for intractable constipation in childhood

“…The mechanisms underpinning colonic trans-anal irrigation, include simple mechanical washout, and stimulation of peristalsis (Emmett 2015). In principle, transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) generates an electrical impulse that acts as a stimulus for appropriate peripheral nerves (Ng 2016). Other theories postulated are that TES acts centrally, and re-balances excitatory and inhibitory signals, resulting in the normalisation of the neural drive (Sluka 2003).…”