Controlling Faecal Incontinence With a Novel Anal Device: a Cost-effectiveness Trial (CONFIDEnCE)

December 10, 2025 updated by: Maastricht University Medical Center

Controlling Faecal Incontinence With a Novel Anal Device: a Cost-effectiveness Trial (CONFIDEnCE)

The purpose of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness and improvement in quality of life of using a novel anal insert (navina)

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

After being informed about the study including the potential pros and cons, patients will be given a minimum of 7 days to think about whether they would like to participate in the study. If they would like to participate, and informed consent form will need to be signed, after which the patients will undergo a screening to ensure they meet the inclusion criteria. A 2 week run-in period will take place to let patients get used to filling in an electronic daily diary. Prior to this period, patients will be asked to fill out several questionnaires. After this period, randomisation into either (1) the anal insert group or (2) the care as usual group. Group 1 will then have an 'accommodation' week in which they can try out two different sizes of the anal insert to see which size they would prefer for the treatment period. The treatment period will consist of 8 weeks In which the (1) anal insert group is expected to use the anal inserts and the (2) care as usual group is asked to continue with their treatment as usual. During the treatment period, patients will fill out an electronic daily diary as well as weekly questionnaires.At the end of the 8 week treatment period, patients will fill out additional questionnaires. The follow-up consists of 4 weeks, after which patients will be asked again to fill out several questionnaires.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
73

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
    • Limburg
      • Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands, 6229HX
        • Maastricht University Medical Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years to 81 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

For run in period

  • Patients with FI according to Rome IV criteria (i.e. recurrent uncontrolled passage of faecal matter for at least 3 months)
  • Aged between 16-90 years

For randomisation and treatment period

  • Patients with FI according to Rome IV criteria (i.e. recurrent uncontrolled passage of faecal matter for at least 3 months)
  • Aged between 16-90 years
  • patients who experience at least 1 episode of accidental bowel leakage during the 2 week run-in period will be eligible for randomisation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Insufficient cognitive skills to fill in patient-reported questionnaires, inability to present to hospital for screening visit and inclusion, neurological/psychiatric or physical inability to comply with the study protocol (including diary assessments) at the investigator's discretion, or insufficient command of the Dutch language.
  • Anatomic abnormalities: known communication between the anal and vaginal tracts, prior diagnosis of congenital anorectal malformations, previous rectal surgery, radiotherapy to a pelvic organ (uterus, prostate, rectum).
  • Prior diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Pregnancy or intention to become pregnant during the study period.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Anal insert
This group will be asked to use anal inserts to help manage their faecal incontinence during the treatment period
Device: Navina anal insert
The Navina anal device is a single-use, pre-lubricated, liquid-filled rectal insert with a plastic applicator. The insert is filled with liquid mineral oil. The primary advantage of this new instrument is the fact that the liquid-filled insert will move and adapt as the fluid is transferred throughout the device making it easy to insert/remove and comfortable to wear. The design is intended to adjust to the contours of the individual anatomy to prevent leakage.
Other Names:
  • anal plug
Sham Comparator: Care as usual
This group will be asked to continue with their care as usual (e.g. incontinence pads)
Other: Care as usual
Care as usual means participants are to continue their usual treatment for FI, like they would if they would not have participated in this study.
Other Names:
  • Comparator

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in FI severity
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured using the St. Marks/vaizey incontinence score. This scale ranges from 0 (complete continence = best score) to 24 (complete incontinence= worst score). We are particularly interested in whether a clinically meaningful decrease of ≥3 points will occur in the intervention group compared to the control group.
8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cost effectiveness (direct medical costs)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Determined through the Medical consumption questionnaire (MCQ).
8 weeks
Cost effectiveness (Costs due to loss of productivity)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Determined through the Productivity Cost Questionnaire (PCQ).
8 weeks
Mental health (anxiety)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured through the Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire. This questionnaire contains 7 questions which can each be given a score of 0 to 3. A total score of 0= no anxiety (the best), a total score of 21= severe anxiety (the worst)
8 weeks
Mental health (depression)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured through the Patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9).
8 weeks
Quality of life (QoL) (general QoL)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured through the 5 level EQ-5D questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). This questionnaire contains 5 domains (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression) which can all individually be scored on a scale of 0 (best) to 5(worst). Additionally participants are asked to score their health for that day from a score of 0 (worst health you can imagine) to a score of 100 (best health you can imagine).
8 weeks
Quality of life (QoL) (disease specific QoL)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured through the Faecal incontinence Quality of life scale (FIQL). This questionnaire contains 24 items which can be scored from 1( worst) to 4,5 or 6 (best) depending on the item. Patients can score a minimum of 29 points (worst QoL) to a maximum of 119 points (best QoL).
8 weeks
Adherence to therapy
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Checking whether patients in the anal insert group (intervention) decided to use the anal inserts or not
8 weeks
Wellbeing
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Measured through the ICEpop CAPability measure for adults (ICE-CAP-A) questionnaire. To measure wellbeing in terms of capabilities like attachment; security (thinking about the future without concern); role (doing things that make you feel valued); enjoyment and pleasure; control (independence). Each of the 5 items can be given a score of 1 (worst) to 4 (best).
8 weeks
Frequency and severity of adverse events
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Any adverse events possibly related to the anal insert will be recorded
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Maastricht University Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 6, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 13, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 1, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 8, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 18, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 10, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 75495

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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