Bowel, Bladder, and Skin Management

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can profoundly alter the genitourinary, gastrointestinal, and integumentary systems. Appropriate management of SCI-associated bladder, bowel, and skin changes is essential for optimization of functional status and minimization of medical complications. This chapter provides an overview of normal bladder, bowel, and skin physiology as well as typical patterns of pathophysiology following SCI. In addition, the chapter reviews hospital-based management of neurogenic bowel, bladder, and skin both for patients with acute SCIs and for re-hospitalized patients with chronic SCIs.