| | Problem
6.1
Case study:
Subjective symptoms and objective measures
In a study
(Mertz,
Naliboff and Mayer, 1999), 108 constipated patients completed questionnaires
eliciting the symptoms they associated with constipation. Factor analysis of the
symptoms was performed and the results correlated with the findings of:
- Transit time assessment
- Anorectal manometry, and
- Rectal sensory testing.
The attempt
was made to identify symptom clusters that would identify either:
- Delayed transit
- Pelvic floor dysfunction,
or
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
It proved possible
to identify symptoms of:
- Slow transit (infrequent
stools, lack of urge to defecate), and
- Irritable bowel syndrome
(recurrent abdominal pain relieved by defecation, abdominal
distension, an irregular pattern of defecation).
Question
6.1.1
However,
no symptoms proved specific for those who had anorectal dysfunction,
or for those 26% of the total who had no detectable physiological
abnormality. What conclusion would you draw from the results summarized
from the paper by Mertz
et al.?
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