Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore evidence concerning clinical assessment, design and performance testing of mobile shower commodes used by adults with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Method: Searches of electronic databases, conference proceedings and key journals were undertaken with no restriction on language or study design. Keywords included spinal cord injury, lesion, sanichair, sanitary chair, shower chair, bowel chair and commode.
Results: A total of 20 publications were included in this review. Common approaches to clinical assessments were questionnaires and observational analysis to assess bowel care routines, function and skin integrity. Design features addressed access for bowel care, postural support, transfers, stability, use in wet environments and skin integrity. Objective performance measures addressed requirements for static stability, backward-sloping seat angles, arm supports and seat materials.
Conclusions: Evidence reviewed was of low methodological quality and lacking in validated instruments to guide clinical practice. Further high-quality research is needed to identify bathing, showering and personal hygiene tasks affecting mobile shower commodes use and to develop validated clinical assessment tools. Performance testing to published standards is also needed.