Cecostomy tubes improve bowel continence for pediatric patients with spina bifida: A retrospective analysis of outcomes from a single clinic

PURPOSE: Pediatric patients with spina bifida often experience neurogenic bowel dysfunction. Although cecostomy tubes could improve bowel continence, their effectiveness is not well established in this population. The aims of this study were to better understand the effectiveness of cecostomy tubes relative to other management strategies (between-subject) and to explore their effectiveness among patients who received these placements (within-subject). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data from pediatric patients enrolled in a national spina bifida patient registry (n = 297) at a single multidisciplinary clinic was performed, covering visits between January 2014 –December 2021. Linear and ordinal mixed effect models (fixed and random effects) tested the influence of cecostomy status (no placement vs placement) and time (visits) on bowel continence while controlling for demographic and condition-specific covariates. RESULTS: Patients with cecostomy tubes had higher bowel continence compared to patients without placements (B = 0.695, 95% CI [0.333, 1.050]; AOR = 2.043, p = .007). Patients with cecostomy tubes had higher bowel continence after their placements compared to before (B = 0.834, 95% CI [0.142, 1.540]; AOR = 3.259, p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: Results indicate cecostomy tubes are effective for improving bowel continence in this pediatric population. Future research is needed to conduct risk analyses and determine the clinical significance of these effects.