Fecal urgency (also termed bowel urgency, rectal urgency or defecation urgency) is a medical symptom where there is a sudden, strong need to defecate that is difficult to defer.
The difference between fecal urgency and urge
fecal incontinence
Fecal incontinence (FI), or in some forms, encopresis, is a lack of control over defecation, leading to involuntary loss of bowel contents—including flatus (gas), liquid stool elements and mucus, or solid feces. FI is a sign or a symptom ...
is that in fecal urgency the person usually has enough time to reach a toilet and there is no involuntary leakage of stool. In urge fecal incontinence, there is a sudden, strong urge to defecate (fecal urgency), and the person has little or no ability to prevent defecation.
Fecal urgency warning time is the length of time from the first sensation of need to defecate until voluntary defecation or incontinence.
Fecal urgency is associated with conditions such as
irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...
,
inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine ...
,
diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
,
pelvic floor dysfunction, and previous
radiotherapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ...
directed at the pelvis or rectum.
It may also occur after certain surgical procedures such as
stapled trans-anal rectal resection
Stapled trans-anal rectal resection (STARR) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for conditions such as obstructed defecation syndrome, internal rectal prolapse, and rectocele. Circular surgical staplers are used to resect (remove) sectio ...
.
References
{{Digestive system and abdomen symptoms and signs
Symptoms and signs: Digestive system and abdomen
Defecation