A structured bowel management program for patients with severe functional constipation can help decrease emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and healthcare costs
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In brief
In brief
A structured outpatient bowel management program involving daily radiographic assessment significantly reduced healthcare utilization in children with severe functional constipation. The program decreased emergency department visits by 64% and hospital admissions, demonstrating potential for substantial cost savings in pediatric constipation management.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Background
Published health-care costs related to constipation in children in the USA are estimated at $3.9 billion/year. We sought to assess the effect of a bowel management program (BMP) on health-care utilization and costs.
Methods
At two collaborating centers, BMP involves an outpatient week during which a treatment plan is implemented and objective assessment of stool burden is performed with daily radiography. We reviewed all patients with severe functional constipation who participated in the program from March 2011 to June 2015 in center 1 and from April 2014 to April 2016 in center 2. ED visits, hospital admissions, and constipation-related morbidities (abdominal pain, fecal impaction, urinary retention, urinary tract infections) 12 months before and 12 months after completion of the BMP were recorded.
Results
One hundred eighty-four patients were included (center 1 = 96, center 2 = 88). Sixty-three (34.2%) patients had at least one unplanned visit to the ED before treatment. ED visits decreased to 23 (12.5%) or by 64% (p