Every so often a novel device comes along that has the ability to change your practice: this one may have the ability to help with this dreaded and often times messy procedure--digital disimpaction.
Its called the "Disimpactor", an invention of Nuvomed, (www.nuvomed.com) and the brainchild of Dr. Burton Bentley, a practicing emergency physician. It is a patented Class 1 FDA registered disposable medical device that may just be able to make your life a bit easier and will be commercially available in April, 2013.
As we all know, doing a digital disimpaction utilizing a gloved finger is generally inefficient, painful and uncomfortable for all involved. According to literature from Nuvomed, "using a curved finger actually increases patient pain without providing a mechanical advantage against the impacted fecal load".
The company claims that their product "provides an innovative solution for the complete relief of fecal impaction". They claim that their device is better than a digital approach because it can substantially reduce pain associated with disimpaction. The company also claims that overall procedure time is shortened.
The structure of the device offers features to break up the stool, along with a leur lock adapter for enema installation deeply into the impaction. This improvement in pain, according to the company, is due to a physical reduction in stool bulk combined with fecal softening due to enema fluid.
In a small study of 14 subjects by Dr. Bentley, the device alone relieved the impaction in 50% of the participants. No patient required digital disimpaction, and no patient who completed the protocol in the study required hospitalization for further disimpaction. Only one patient withdrew from the procedure due to pain associated with the procedure and there were no complications or adverse effects during this small study.
Any thoughts??
Poster Comment:
Should first try drinking a few extra liters of water. Saline IV drip might also work.