Effect of biofeedback combined with high-quality nursing in treatment of functional constipation

Table 1 General patient information

Items	Control group, n = 50	Experimental group, n = 50	t value	P value
Age in yr	55.3 ± 7.3	54.7 ± 3.6	0.521	> 0.05
Gender, F/M	28/22	29/21
Disease course in yr	6.34 ± 4.31	6.23 ± 4.35	0.127	> 0.05

Table 2 Scoring criteria for constipation symptoms

Score, points	Defecation frequency, times/d	Defecation time in min	Defecation exertion	Incomplete defection	Stool shape
0	1-2	< 5	Easy	No	B4-7
1	2-3	5-15	Force required	Mild (occasionally)	B3
2	3-5	15-30	Excessive force required	Moderate (often)	B2
3	≥ 5	≥ 30	Kaiserol or hand required to help defecate	Severe (frequently)	B1

Stool shape based on Bristol standard classification.

Table 3 Bristol standard classification

B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	B7
Scattered and hard	Sausage-like clumps	Dry and cracked sausage-like	Smooth and soft sausage-like	Soft and lumpy	Mushy stool	Watery stool

Table 4 Scores of constipation symptoms before and after treatment

	Control, n = 50		Experiment, n = 50
Defecation	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	t value	P value
Frequency	2.25 ± 0.71	0.92 ± 0.43	2.27 ± 0.52	0.67 ± 0.58	2.448	< 0.05
Time	2.33 ± 0.26	0.83 ± 0.27	2.31 ± 0.41	0.58 ± 0. 63	2.579	< 0.05
Exertion	2.30 ± 0.39	1.07 ± 0.15	2.28 ± 0.43	1.01 ± 0.12	2.209	< 0.05
Incomplete	2.01 ± 0.55	1.13 ± 0.21	2.02 ± 0.46	1.05 ± 0.17	2.094	< 0.05
Hand-assisted	2.35 ± 0.31	0.46 ± 0.52	2.37 ± 0.12	0.31 ± 0.10	2.003	< 0.05

Table 5 Anorectal pressure measurement before and after treatment

Items, mmHg	Control, n = 50		Experiment, n = 50		t value	P value
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Anal canal resting pressure	63.25 ± 13.86	46.92 ± 13.43	63.27 ± 12.52	41.37 ± 11.58	2.213	< 0.05
Maximum systolic pressure	104.93 ± 32.18	122.71 ± 33.15	105.1 ± 31.93	127.62 ± 32.87	-0.737	< 0.05
Initial defecation threshold	75.31 ± 24.42	58.89 ± 15.15	76.33 ± 25.06	53.28 ± 12.23	2.037	< 0.05

Table 6 Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale scores before and after treatment

Items	Control, n = 50		Experiment, n = 50		t value	P value
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
SAS	47.61 ± 10.37	37.22 ± 11.32	46.31 ± 11.72	32.61 ± 10.18	2.141	< 0.05
SDS	53.54 ± 9.76	46.18 ± 10.7	51.51 ± 10.57	40.82 ± 11.12	2.456	< 0.05

SAS: Self-Rating Anxiety Scale; SDS: Self-Rating Depression Scale.

Table 7 Patient satisfaction score

Group (n)	Satisfaction score	t value	P value
Experiment (50)	98.21 ± 2.56	13.897	< 0.05
Control (50)	89.83 ± 3.41