Abstract: Objective · To verify the effectiveness of the intervention program of bowel dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods · Eighty bowel dysfunction patients with SCI in a rehabilitation hospital in Shanghai from Jan. to Dec. 2018 were included. According to the time of admission, the patients were divided into intervention group and control group, with 40 cases in each group. The patients in the control group received the routine nursing, and the patients in the intervention group were provided with the intervention program constructed by this study. The bowel function indexes of the two groups were compared at the time of admission, 4 weeks after intervention and 1 month after discharge. The quality of life in the two groups was compared at the time of admission and 1 day before discharge. Results · After intervention, the defecation frequency, fecal character score, defecation time, abdominal distention, constipation rate and drug dependence rate of the intervention group were lower than those of the control group (all P<0.05), and their total scores of quality of life and the scores in various fields were higher than those of the control group (all P<0.05). The differences in the quality of life between the two groups of patients after intervention and at the time of admission were statistically significant except for the social field (all P<0.05). Conclusion · The intervention program for bowel dysfunction patients with SCI can effectively lead to the recovery of the bowel function, reduce the incidence of bowel complications, and improve the quality of their life.

Key words: spinal cord injury (SCI), bowel dysfunction, intervention program, effectiveness