Colostomy and quality of life after spinal cord injury: systematic review

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of affected patients. The aim of this review was to determine whether colostomy formation improves QoL in patients with SCI. METHODS: The Cochrane Register, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL were searched using medical subject headings. The search was extended to the reference lists of identified studies, ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry. All clinical trials that included spinal injury and QoL, time spent on bowel care, and patient satisfaction with stoma were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies were found (including 488 patients with a stoma), of which 13 were retrospective cross‐sectional studies and two were case–control studies, one of which was prospective research. Nine of 11 studies focusing on QoL reported that patients' QoL was improved by the stoma, whereas the remaining two studies found no difference. Time spent on bowel care was significantly reduced in all 13 studies that considered this outcome, with patients reducing the average time spent on bowel care from more than 1 h to less than 15 min per day. All 12 studies assessing patient satisfaction with their stoma reported high patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Stoma formation improves QoL, reduces time spent on bowel care, and increases independence. Stoma is an option that could be discussed and offered to patients with spinal cord injury.