Diarrhea and fecal impaction in elderly long-stay patients.

A retrospective screening of one year's duration was carried out on 245 permanently hospitalized geriatric patients to study the frequency and cases of periods of at least three days' diarrhea. Such periods were suffered by 65/245 patients and 32% had recurrencies. Fecal impaction was the most common cause of diarrhea (in 55%). Diarrhea was induced by laxatives in 20%. Gastrointestinal infections caused 5% of the diarrhea cases. Immobility and fecal incontinence were strongly associated with fecal impaction in cases of diarrhea. Urinary tract infections treated with antibiotics in the patients with fecal impaction and diarrhea almost were twice as frequent as in patients with other causes of diarrhea or patients with no diarrhea. This retrospective investigation emphasizes the importance of the recognition and proper treatment of constipation, especially in bedridden or chairbound elderly persons with fecal incontinence and diarrhea.