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The Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction score (NBD) is not suitable for patients with multiple sclerosis

Spinal Cord volume 60, pages 1130–1135 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

Retrospective cohort study.

Objective

Bowel and anorectal dysfunctions are common in patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). The use of validated questionnaires is recommended in the initial assessment and patient’s follow-up. The Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction (NBD) score is the most used questionnaire but has been developed in spinal cord injured patients and has never been validated in other neurological diseases. We aimed to assess NBD’s relevance in pwMS.

Settings

Monocentric study in a tertiary neuro-urology department.

Methods

A retrospective study in pwMS consulting for the first time in our department, that fulfilled the NBD questionnaire between 2010 and 2021 was performed. Qualitative and quantitative answers for each question were analyzed. Content validity and internal consistency were evaluated.

Results

One hundred thirty-five pwMS (mean age 47.1, 58% of women) fulfilled the NBD questionnaire. Mean NBD score was 6.0 (SD 6.1) and 75% of patients had a score <9. Content validity analysis revealed 4 items not appropriate, 1 item with irrelevant calibration, and omission of some treatment widely used in pwMS. Internal consistency was appreciated with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.48 IC 95% [0.31; 0.6].

Conclusion

NBD questionnaire lacks content validity and presents a weak internal consistency in pwMS. A specific questionnaire is therefore required in pwMS to optimize bowel management and follow-up.

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Fig. 1: Distribution of the total score.
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

ET reports a grant from ARSEP Foundation (foundation pour l’aide à la recherche sur la sclérose en plaques). The others author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GRC 01, GREEN Groupe de Recherche Clinique en Neuro-Urologie, AP-HP, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, 75020, Paris, France

    Gabriel Miget, Eliane Tan, Martina Pericolini, Camille Chesnel, Rebecca Haddad, Nicolas Turmel, Gérard Amarenco & Claire Hentzen

  2. Department of Neuro-urology, Tenon Hospital, AP-HP, 4, Rue de la Chine, 75020, Paris, France

    Gabriel Miget, Eliane Tan, Martina Pericolini, Camille Chesnel, Rebecca Haddad, Nicolas Turmel, Gérard Amarenco & Claire Hentzen

  3. Urology Department, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Università Degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Martina Pericolini

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Contributions

GM participated in the development of the study design and objectives. He was responsible for data extraction and data input, performed the statistical analysis, and was responsible for writing the manuscript, submitting it, and proofreading it. He validated the final version. ET participated in the writing of the manuscript. MP participated in the writing of the manuscript. CC participated in the development of the study design and objectives, in the writing and proofreading of the manuscript. She guided the statistical analyses. RH participated in the writing of the manuscript. NT participated in the writing of the manuscript. GA participated in the development of the study design and objectives, in the writing of the manuscript and provided feedback on the report. CH participated in the development of the study design and objectives, in the writing of the manuscript and provide feedback on the report.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Miget.

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Competing interests

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: ET reports a grant from ARSEP foundation (foundation pour l’aide à la recherche sur la sclérose en plaques). None of the other authors reported no competing interests.

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Miget, G., Tan, E., Pericolini, M. et al. The Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction score (NBD) is not suitable for patients with multiple sclerosis. Spinal Cord 60, 1130–1135 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-022-00837-3

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