2016 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 183-187
The present study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of shortening the consultation period for nurses to classify and judge the defecation situation of patients in a clinical setting based on a flow chart reported previously (Hosono et al. 2016). The possibility of shortening the former four-week consultation period to a two-week one was explored, with reference to the days when defecation occurred, stool frequency, stool hardness, and stool amount for 148 participants (aged 37.0±13.7 years).
Continuous observation of the days when defecation occurred and stool frequency revealed that the average distribution in a one-week period was almost equivalent between the four-week and two-week consultation periods, with no significant difference between them. There was also no significant difference between the two consultation periods in terms of stool consistency (hard, normal, mud-like or watery), stool hardness, or stool size (more than a thumb head size, medium size or larger than a fist). These results suggest that it would be possible to shorten the consultation period from four to two weeks based on the flow chart.
