Development of a Constipation Risk Assessment Scale for Hospitalized Patients.

Constipation remains a prominent problem in the hospital care setting given the accumulation of contributing factors. Indeed, one of the most common causes of constipation is the existence of irregular habits in stool schedules, including the fact of delaying the time to go to the toilet, which causes the subject for a prolonged period of time to inhibit symptoms. defecation reflexes.

These disorders are often increased by the lack of exercise and prolonged bed rest, which cause a lack of muscle of the abdominal strap, the abdominals not being able to play their role of compression.

Some drugs are also a major cause of the difficulty of intestinal elimination, including opiates, anticholinergics, anti-depressants, etc.

Finally, an unbalanced diet, a water deficiency are aggravating factors, as is anxiety. In the medical and para-medical literature, there is no complete and validated tool for assessing the risk of constipation at the admission of a hospital stay. This project is to develop a constipation risk assessment scale, which can be used autonomously by nurses, based on the risk factors identified in the literature, scales published in English, and 2007 recommendations from the French National Society of Gastroenterology, recommendations of the High Authority of Health and a consensus of experts. The use of such a tool would make it possible to identify at an early stage high-risk individuals and to implement the appropriate means of prevention.

Inclusion criteria

• Male or female 18 years or older
• Swallowing, drinking and eating
• Hospitalized in one of the participating services
• Hospitalized for a period of at least 4 days
• Able to give informed consent and answer questions about his or her lifestyle

Exclusion criteria

• Patient with major constipation at baseline (no stool for at least 6 days)
• History of intestinal surgery during the 10 days preceding the study,
• Hospitalized in palliative care or bed identified palliative care.