Electrical Rectal Stimulation to Promote Bowel Emptying After Spinal Cord Injury

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Other
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

The investigators are testing the effect of electrical stimulation of the rectum on colonic motility. Most individuals with spinal cord injury develop neurogenic bowel dysfunction, which includes slowed colonic motility, which means that stools take longer than normal to pass through the colon. This slowed movement may result in chronic constipation and difficulty emptying the bowels. Individuals typically (without or without caregiver assistance) insert a gloved finger into the rectum and gently stretch it to improve colonic motility for a brief period to empty the bowels. The investigators hypothesize that electrically stimulating the rectum, instead of mechanically stretching it, will produce the same beneficial effect of improving colonic motility. Therefore, this study will compare the two methods. If electrical stimulation effectively improves colonic motility, then the investigator shall develop the approach as a therapeutic intervention in future studies.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Healthy Volunteers: f
View:

• Suprasacral spinal cord injury

• Diagnosed neurogenic bowel dysfunction and using digital rectal stimulation

• Bowel routine requires at least 30 minutes or at least 3 cycles of digital rectal stimulation

• Neurologically stable

• At least 18 years old

• At least 12 months post neurological injury or disease diagnosis

Locations
United States
New York
Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
RECRUITING
Syracuse
Contact Information
Primary
Cesar Colasante-Garrido, MD
cesar.colasante@va.gov
(315) 325-4400
Time Frame
Start Date: 2024-05-01
Estimated Completion Date: 2026-12-31
Participants
Target number of participants: 12
Treatments
Experimental: Bowel emptying
Study participants will act as their own controls, first providing data using their usual digital rectal stimulation intervention for bowel care, then providing data using electrical stimulation for bowel care.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Leads: VA Office of Research and Development

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov