Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) is defined by symptoms of constipation and faecal incontinence that affect up to 80% of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), multiple sclerosis (MS), spina bifida (SB) and cauda equina syndrome. The NBD score is a validated tool1 in SCI to evaluate bowel function and correlates with quality of life but is not designed for clinical decision-making.
A clinical decision support tool, MENTOR (Monitoring Efficacy of Neurogenic bowel Treatment On Response), was developed and validated by a team of international academic and clinical experts. The tool is based on a questionnaire with three dimensions: objective bowel score measures (the NBD Score), patients’ subjective perception of their bowel function and special attention symptoms, allowing for a holistic assessment of SCI patients.
The tool was first created through a modified Delphi process and then validated in patients with SCI through a prospective, observational study. Afterwards the tool was tested against blinded clinical opinion of international experts in gastroenterology and rehabilitation clinics in UK, Denmark, USA, Italy, The Netherlands and Germany.
The results of the international validation with a total of 241 participants, showed an overall concordance rate of 79 % between the expert clinician’s and the MENTOR tool. Furthermore, the median completion time for the tool was 5 minutes with 97 % of the participants rating it “easy to complete”2.
The MENTOR tool is not intended as a substitute but a supplement to assessment by a clinician, who should always make the final decision based on their professional evaluation.
This site contains open access versions of the MENTOR tool in the following languages: Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Spanish and the scientific article describing the creation of the tool “Creation and validation of a new tool for the monitoring efficacy of neurogenic bowel dysfunction treatment on response: the MENTOR tool”.
The creation and validation of the MENTOR tool was supported by Coloplast A/S.
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