A Study for Risk Factors of Urinary Incontinence in CVA Patients

Kim, Ha Young; Lee, Seong Ho; Jung, Byung Soo

Abstract

PURPOSE
It is known that the urinary incontinence can occur in cerebrovascular accident (CVA) patients and will be recovered after some time or persistent. Although it is generally thought that the consciousness level and activity function may be the major factors for recovery from or persistence of incontinence, only a few were studied. This study is to confirm whether or not the consciousness level and activity function affect the recovery from or persistence of incontinence.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We compared the consciousness level and activity function between 12 patients with CVA who recovered from the urinary incontinence during hospitalization and 12 patients with CVA who persist the incontinence at the time of discharge. We scaled the activity function by Barthel index from zero to 80 and consciousness level from zero to 10.
RESULTS
In recovered group all patient had alert consciousness except one. Barthel index was zero in 4(33%) patients and remaining patients had variable Barthel index from 5 to 75. In incontinent group the consciousness level is variable ranged from zero to 10. The Barthel index was mainly zero(8/12, 75%). There is no siginificant difference in Barthel index between two groups but the continent group has higher consciousness level than incontinent group (P<0.05, Wilcoxon signed rank test).
CONCLUSION
The activity function is not an important factor affecting the incontinence and it is thought that we can make many incontinent patients continent by actively helping the patient to move from bed to toilet or commode with timed or prompted voiding especially in case of alert consciousness.