Assessment of neurogenic bowel symptoms with the bowel dysfunction score in children with spina bifida: a prospective case–control study

Prospective study of 98 children demonstrates that spina bifida patients experience significantly worse bowel-related quality of life compared to healthy controls, despite active management with rectal irrigations or laxatives. Unexpectedly, no difference in quality of life was found between different bowel management strategies, suggesting need for longitudinal evaluation of treatment effectiveness.