A Within Subjects Comparison of Two Antegrade Flushing Regimens in Children

This trial used a repeated measures, single subjects alternating treatments A-B-C-B'-C'-B1' withdrawal design in which all subjects were tested under all conditions and each subject acted as his or her own control. The subjects were randomly assigned to either normal saline or USP glycerin to control for order effects. Baseline data A served as the control and was obtained pre-operatively. The B-C arm evaluated dose-response relationship and was used to identify the minimum dosing volume and frequency of ACE administration of NS and USP Glycerin necessary to promote fecal continence. When the optimal dose as identified, the child continued on that dose for 2 weeks to insure treatment stability and effectiveness.

To prevent statistical bias from subject loss due to treatment failure, each child was randomized to a second treatment sequence once they have achieved continence with minimal side effects on optimal dosing The second phase B'-C'-B1' of the study compared the two regimens at optimal dose and administration frequency. This phase was used to confirm the effectiveness of NS and USP Glycerin at optimal dosing on continence and assess side effects.