Biofeedback Treatment for Functional Constipation

June 24, 2010 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

Biofeedback for Functional Constipation: Efficacy and Predictive Factors of Success

The purpose of this randomized, controlled trial is to examine how well biofeedback treatment works to improve constipation. The study is comparing two kinds of biofeedback treatment: 1) anorectal-specific biofeedback therapy and 2) generalized biofeedback therapy using relaxation techniques.

The study will also examine which medical and psychological factors determine biofeedback success for treating constipation, such as bowel habits, emotional reactions to constipation, and levels of stress and psychological distress.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of anorectal biofeedback therapy for functional constipation secondary to pelvic floor dyssynergia. Participants will be randomized to either six sessions of anorectal biofeedback or to six sessions of generalized biofeedback.

Participants will complete questionnaires at baseline, at completion of randomized treatment(12 weeks), and six months after completion of treatment to measure change in bowel habits, constipation severity, constipation-related quality of life, and constipation-related disability. An examination of psychosocial factors will also be conducted prior to treatment to distinguish which ones are predictive of biofeedback success for functional constipation.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

15

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94115
        • University of California, San Francisco

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • chronic constipation
  • medical recommendation to undergo biofeedback training

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Madhulika G Varma, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

March 1, 2005

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 16, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 16, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

July 18, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 25, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 24, 2010

Last Verified

August 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • H9654-26326

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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