Utility of balloon expulsion test in patients with constipation: Preliminary results in a single center

Abstract

Summary Background Pelvic floor dyssynergia can be a cause of idiopathic constipation. Although pelvic floor dyssynergia can be diagnosed by rectal balloon expulsion (BE) and anorectal manometry, the utility of BE in the evaluation of constipation in clinical practice remains to be determined. To this end, we examined the role of BE among different body positions in Taiwanese people with constipation. Methods Fourteen Taiwanese adults (age range, 19–61 years), including six healthy volunteers (4 male, 2 female) and eight patients with chronic constipation (1 male, 7 female) underwent solid-state anorectal manometry and BE. The demographic data of all individuals were recorded at enrollment. Results Compared to healthy volunteers, patients with chronic constipation had a numerically lower threshold for mean resting pressure (p = 0.052), squeeze pressure, maximal squeeze pressure, and lower threshold volumes for urge, but higher threshold pressures for compliance. Successful BE seemed to be associated with lower mean resting pressure (p = 0.061), lower mean threshold volumes for urge, and higher mean maximal squeeze pressure for compliance. Although patients with chronic constipation had a numerically lower successful rate of rectal BE than healthy controls, the differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion In Taiwanese individuals, results of BE seems consistent with anorectal manometry parameters, and patients with chronic constipation have a trend of lower successful rate of rectal BE than healthy controls. However, future work to confirm the use of BE in differentiating subtypes of chronic constipation is needed.