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Introduction:Urinary incontinence (UI) negatively impacts life participation and quality of life (QOL) in people with MS (pwMS). This may be mitigated by early urological evaluation and intervention. Objective: examine relationship of bladder impairment with the standardized neurological evaluation in pwMS.
Materials & Methods:Charts of 86 pwMS presenting between November 1, 2013 and January 30, 2014 were reviewed. pwMS are routinely assessed using Kurtzke’s Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Functional Systems Score (FSS). EDSS components extracted for this study include: Cerebellar FSS, Brainstem FSS, Bowel Bladder (BB) FSS, Overall EDSS score, Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS−5), and Barthel Index (BI).
Spearman’s correlations were used to examine the relationship between MFIS−5, BI, EDSS and Cerebellar, Brainstem, and BB FSS. All data were assessed using SPSS; alpha level was set at <.05.
Results:At least mild BB impairment was found in 68.7% of our sample. BB FSS was found to have a large relationship to the BI [r(81)=−.559, p<.001] indicating BB impairment is associated with decreased ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). BB FSS has a moderate relationship to overall EDSS score [r(81)=.432, p<.001] indicating BB impairment is associated with decreased mobility. BB FSS had a small relationship with brainstem FSS [r(81)=.229, p=.037] and MFIS−5 [r(84=.233, p=.034] indicating association between BB impairment and decreased brainstem function and increased fatigue. No correlation found between BB FSS and cerebellar FSS [r(84)=.207, p=.061].
Conclusions:The relationship between the EDSS and BB FSS suggests a mechanism to prompt early urological evaluation and intervention in pwMS.