Evaluating the Performance and Perception of a Stoma Bag Full-Circle Filter in People with a Colostomy or an Ileostomy—Two Randomized Crossover Trials

Stoma bag filter-related issues, such as ballooning (the bag filling with gas), remain highly prevalent among users. The full-circle filter was purposely designed to reduce ballooning through the inclusion of a unique, full-circle pre-filter. Two similar randomized crossover trials were conducted to compare the performance of the full-circle filter with a dual filter in adults with a colostomy (n = 20) or an ileostomy (n = 20). The frequency of ballooning was significantly lower with the full-circle filter versus the dual filter in participants with a colostomy (p < 0.0007) and in participants with an ileostomy (p < 0.0001). No significant differences were observed in the frequency of other issues (pancaking, odor problems, and ostomy solution discretion) between the filters. On average, participants with an ileostomy wore ostomy solutions with the full-circle filter for 3.3 h longer than ostomy solutions with the dual filter (p < 0.0001); wear-time in users with a colostomy was comparable between the filters. Considering the lack of published research on stoma bag filters and the high prevalence of filter-related issues, these data provide important information for health care practitioners who support people living with a stoma.