Urge fecal incontinence: are intramural rectal injections of botulinum toxin a long-term treatment option?

[BACKGROUND AND AIMS] Unsuccessful first-line conservative treatments for managing fecal incontinence (FI) lead to considering predominantly invasive options, posing challenges in terms of cost and patient acceptance of benefit/risk ratio. Recent data from a prospective randomized study have highlighted intramural rectal botulinum toxin (BoNT/A) injection as a promising minimally invasive alternative for urge FI, demonstrating efficacy at 3 months but lacking long-term evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the sustained efficacy and injection frequency of intramural rectal BoNT/A injection in the treatment of urge FI.

[METHODS] This retrospective monocentric study enrolled all patients who underwent intramural rectal BoNT/A injection for urge FI after failed conservative therapy or sacral neuromodulation (SNM). Injections were administered during sigmoidoscopy, delivering 200 U of BoNT/A at 10 circumferentially distributed sites. Treatment effectiveness was assessed using the Cleveland clinic incontinence score (CCS) and a visual analog scale (VAS) to measure the severity of discomfort related to episodes of fecal urgency, with reinjection performed upon symptom recurrence.

[RESULTS] In total, 41 patients (34 females) were included, with a median follow-up of 24.9 (range 3.2-70.3) months. Overall, 11 patients had previously failed sacral nerve stimulation. Significant reductions were observed in the CCS (median 11 versus 7, p = 0.001) and VAS symptoms (median 4, range 0-5 versus median 2, range 0-5, p = 0.001). In total, 22 patients (53%) experienced a reduction in the CCS by over 50%. The median interval between intramural rectal BoNT/A injections was 9.8 months (range 5.3-47.9 months).

[CONCLUSIONS] This study provides the first evidence of the sustained efficacy of intramural rectal BoNT/A injection for urge FI. Further investigations are warranted to refine patient selection and reinjection criteria, evaluate socioeconomic impacts, and compare rectal BoNT/A injection with other therapeutic modalities.