Introduction: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction in patients after spinal cord injury is a common issue that significantly impacts the patient, their relatives, and their future life. It is crucial to provide successful treatment and educate the patient on how to manage life at home. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to review the literature to present neurogenic bowel dysfunction to patients and their relatives. We seek to understand how patients cope with bowel dysfunction and what evacuation techniques they use. Methods: This thesis is based on a review of Slovenian and international professional literature. Sources were drawn from books and online professional resources. Literature searches were conducted using COBISS, the digital library of the University of Ljubljana, PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Results: We found that patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction after a spinal cord injury use various bowel evacuation techniques. Regarding quality of life, the issues are similar for all patients, with the greatest challenges being bowel and urine evacuation. Various studies have demonstrated some useful techniques for bowel evacuation that could contribute to better and easier bowel care, thus improving patients' quality of life and helping them cope with these issues more easily. Discussion and Conclusion: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction in patients after spinal cord injury is a complex issue that affects them for life. Coping with this is challenging for all patients, but it becomes easier over time. It is important to further research and study how to achieve the best possible outcome for such patients. A interdisciplinary team that treats these patients in the hospital and during rehabilitation should approach each individual patient and seek solutions that are appropriate for them. It would be particularly beneficial to study bowel evacuation techniques and determine which methods are most suitable for each patient. This would help ensure regular bowel movements, prevent undesirable symptoms, and restore the will to live in patients who are already significantly affected and confined to a wheelchair.
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