Time Comparison of Interventions on Bowel Programs in Spinal Cord Injury

Time Comparison of Bisacodyl Suppository, Enemeez and Peristeen on Bowel Programs in Patients With Diagnosis of Spinal Cord Injury and Neurogenic Bowel

The goal of the study is to find out which of three different options (a suppository, a mini enema, or a transanal irrigation device) takes the least amount of time for completing bowel program amongst those who have spinal cord injuries with a neurogenic bowel. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

  • Does one of these tools meaningfully reduce the amount of time people with spinal cord injury need to complete their bowel programs?
  • Does one of these tools meaningfully reduce the number of times someone might experience incontinence or constipation?
  • Are participants satisfied in using these devices, and would they prefer to use the same tool at home? Researchers will compare the answers to these questions between the three different tools to improve quality of life for patients while improving the efficiency of the care provided.

Participants in this study will:

  • Be enrolled in one of these options depending on when they are admitted to Casa Colina Hospital
  • Will receive the same tool for their bowel program for the majority or entirety of their stay
  • Will have a tracking sheet placed in their rooms for nursing to record when bowel program started and when it was completed
  • Will receive questionnaires when they enroll and when they finish the study on their experience with the tool and how likely they would be to use it at home

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Detailed Description

The aim of the study is to guide clinical practice with the goal of reducing burden of care and improving patient experience with bowel program. The study specifically aims to determine the difference in time spent on bowel programs with either Suppository, Enemeez or Peristeen. This study aims to advance the process of bowel programs, which currently is a large time cost for our staff. By making bowel programs more efficient, we will allow our nursing staff to devote more time to other aspects of care while improving both patient and staff satisfaction. Ultimately, determining the most efficient bowel management for patients with diagnosis of spinal cord injury and neurogenic bowel will improve the continuum of care.

All patients admitted to inpatient rehab unit will be reviewed for diagnosis of spinal cord injury with reflexic neurogenic bowel. From this population we will exclude according to our exclusion criteria. Participants will then be recruited from these patients.

The primary goal of this study is to determine which intervention produces the most time effective bowel program: suppository, Enemeez or Peristeen. The study will consist of 3 cohorts of participants. Participants will be placed in a cohort based on the date of bowel program initiation. Each month will be assigned a different intervention type, and all participants with bowel program initiated during that month will be using the assigned intervention. During the bowel program nursing staff will document time suppository or Enemeez is given. In the case of Pertisteen, the nurse will document the time out of bed instead. The staff will also document the time bowel evacuation is complete and if there has been any need for intervention to treat constipation in the last 24 hours. If a participant is on a program at the time of cohort transition, that participant will remain on their established program.

Our secondary outcome is effectiveness of treatment which will be assessed by episodes of bowel incontinence and constipation. This will be evaluated by a chart review. We will note episodes of bowel incontinence and episodes of additional orders to address constipation (e.g. abdominal xray with indication of constipation, Relistor, additional oral medications, etc.)

The tertiary outcome of the study is to assess patient satisfaction and anticipated feasibility for home use. This will be assessed via questionnaire made for this study utilizing the Theoretical Domain Framework and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Questionnaires will be distributed upon enrollment and after the intervention period, which may differ to discharge or several days prior to discharge depending on the bowel program chosen.

Following participation in treatment, patients will be transitioned to a bowel program that is accessible at home as prescribed by their physician.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

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 Contact

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • admission to acute rehab inpatient unit
  • diagnosis of spinal cord injury
  • reflexive type neurogenic bowel requiring bowel program with suppository and digital stimulation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • anal or rectal stenosis
  • active inflammatory bowel disease
  • acute diverticulitis
  • colorectal cancer
  • ischemic colitis
  • rectal surgery within the last 3 months
  • endoscopic polypectomy within the last 4 weeks
  • areflexic bowel
  • severe autonomic dysreflexia

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Suppository
Bowel Program managed via Suppository (current standard of care at Casa Colina Hospital)
The patient will receive a suppository 15-20 minutes prior to being transferred to toilet. Then while on the toilet patient will receive multiple digital stimulations 5-10 minutes apart to trigger the bowel reflex until bowel program is completed.
Active Comparator: Enemeez
Bowel Program via use of the Enemeez mini enema device
The patient will receive the 5mL enema then be transferred onto the toilet. If no evacuation occurs within 15 minutes, then while on the toilet patient will receive multiple digital stimulations 5-10 minutes apart to trigger the bowel reflex until bowel program is completed.
Active Comparator: Peristeen
Bowel Program via the Peristeen Transanal Irrigation tool
The Peristeen device will be prepared prior to sitting the participant on the toilet. The lubricated rectal catheter will be inserted, and the retention balloon will be gently inflated to ensure a rectal seal. The irrigation pump will then pump water into the rectum. The balloon will be deflated and the catheter removed to allow for emptying of the water and stool. The catheter will be discarded.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time required to complete bowel program
Time Frame: Every morning for approximately two hours, from enrollment and lasting 21 days
During the bowel program nursing staff will document time suppository or Enemeez is given. In the case of Pertisteen, the nurse will document the time out of bed instead. This will be done manually via a paper chart that is placed in the patient's room. The staff will also document the time bowel evacuation is complete and if there has been any need for intervention to treat constipation in the last 24 hours.
Every morning for approximately two hours, from enrollment and lasting 21 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effectiveness of treatment intervention
Time Frame: Assessed every morning via chart review from enrollment and lasting 21 days
Assessed by episodes of bowel incontinence and constipation. This will be evaluated by a chart review. We will note episodes of bowel incontinence and episodes of additional orders to address constipation (e.g. abdominal xray with indication of constipation, Relistor, additional oral medications, etc.)
Assessed every morning via chart review from enrollment and lasting 21 days

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient satisfaction and anticipated feasibility for home use
Time Frame: Upon enrollment and again at 3 weeks
Assessed via questionnaire made for this study utilizing the Theoretical Domain Framework and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. The questionnaire will assess domains of patient satisfaction and feasibility for home use utilizing a 5-point Likert Scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree." Higher scores will indicate higher satisfaction and feasibility.
Upon enrollment and again at 3 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Study Director: Emily Rosario, PhD, Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare

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.

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 (Estimated)

September 4, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 4, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 4, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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