Search

This research evaluates the readability and quality of patient information material about female urinary incontinence (fUI) in ten popular artificial intelligence (AI) supported chatbots. We used the most recent versions of 10 widely-used chatbots, including OpenAI's GPT-4, Claude-3 Sonnet, Grok 1.5, Mistral Large 2, Google Palm 2, Meta's Llama 3, HuggingChat v0.8.4, Microsoft's Copilot, Gemini Advanced, and Perplexity. Prompts were created to generate texts about UI, stress type UI, urge type UI, and mix type UI. The modified Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) technique and QUEST (Quality Evaluating Scoring Tool) were used to assess the quality, and the average of 8 well-known readability formulas, which is Average Reading Level Consensus (ARLC), were used to evaluate readability. When comparing the average scores, there were significant differences in the mean mQEIP and QUEST scores across ten chatbots (p = 0.049 and p = 0.018). Gemini received the greatest mean scores for mEQIP and QUEST, whereas Grok had the lowest values. The chatbots exhibited significant differences in mean ARLC, word count, and sentence count (p = 0.047, p = 0.001, and p = 0.001, respectively). For readability, Grok is the easiest to read, while Mistral is highly complex to understand. AI-supported chatbot technology needs to be improved in terms of readability and quality of patient information regarding female UI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Calculated person-year incidence of urinary incontinence in hypertensive female patients. • The incidence rates of UI in hypertensive women were significantly higher than that in normotensive women. • Hypertension was an independent risk factor for new-onset UI and SUI in Chinese adult women. To determine the incidence of UI (urinary incontinence) and its subtypes in hypertensive women and examine the association between hypertension and new-onset UI. We conducted a cohort study on women aged ≥20 years in six regions of China. This cohort study was carried out from 2014 to 2016 at baseline, with follow-up completed in 2018. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, physiological and health behaviours were collected. We calculated the standardized person-year incidence of UI in hypertensive women, and used logistic regression to evaluate the association between hypertension and UI and its subtypes. The standardized incidence of UI, stress UI (SUI), urgency UI (UUI), and mixed UI (MUI) in hypertensive women was 32.2, 21.9, 4.1, and 6.1 per 1000 person-years. Compared with normotensive women, the unadjusted and adjusted OR (odd ratio) for UI in hypertensive women was 2.62 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 2.16–3.18) and 1.70 (95 % CI, 1.14–2.53), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for SUI in women with hypertension was 2.44 (95 % CI, 1.92–3.09) and 2.60 (95 % CI, 1.68–4.04), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for UUI in women with hypertension was 2.80 (95 % CI, 1.79–4.37) and 0.54 (95 % CI, 0.13–3.66), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for MUI in women with hypertension was 2.49 (95 % CI, 1.92–3.09) and 0.60 (95 % CI, 0.19–1.91), respectively. The incidence of UI in hypertensive women was 32.2/1000 person-years. Hypertension was an independent risk factor for new-onset UI and SUI in Chinese adult women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) refractory to medical treatment poses significant challenges despite advancements. This study evaluates the efficacy of intravesical botulinum toxin for UUI and identifies factors influencing treatment outcomes. Among 368 women receiving botulinum toxin injections, 74.5% achieved a complete discontinuation of pad usage. Predictors of efficacy included lower pre-treatment pad usage and the absence of prior sling placement. Patients often required repeat injections (60.3%), with younger age and satisfaction correlating with treatment repetition. The interval between injections averaged 18 months, influenced by logistical challenges and patient preferences. Despite concerns about diminishing efficacy, subjective perceptions did not align with objective findings. Limitations include retrospective analysis and heterogeneous clinical records. In conclusion, intravesical botulinum toxin is effective for UUI, with pre-treatment pad usage and sling placement history influencing outcomes and patient characteristics influencing treatment repetition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urinary incontinence (UI) is common in women and affects the quality of life in female patients severely. But the clinical consideration and treatment are insufficient. Acupuncture and-moxibustion has been proposed as a potentially effective intervention for female UI. Hence, the World Federation of Acupuncture-moxibustion Societies (WFAS) have initiated a project to develop the clinical practice guideline (CPG) on acupuncture and moxibustion for female UI towards global acupuncture practitioners. The CPG was developed according to the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, referring to the principles of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. During the development of the CPG, the guideline development group (GDG) played an important role, which is composed of multi-national and multi-disciplinary experts. The clinical questions, recommendations and therapeutic protocols were all formulated by GDG using the modified Delphi method and basing on the results of the latest systematic review. This article focuses on the recommendations in the CPG. The CPG contains ten recommendations for ten clinical questions, including nine conditional recommendations for the intervention, one conditional recommendations for either the intervention or the comparison. The CPG also provides one conventional filiform needle therapy protocol, two deep puncturing stimulation on lumbosacral acupoints therapy protocols, and four moxibustion therapy protocols, extracted from the included clinical evidence of this CPG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objectives: Artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) is a treatment option for women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after failure of previous surgery or as a primary procedure in severe intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). The aim of the study was to assess the long-term efficacy and risk factors for surgical revision and definitive explantation of AUS laparoscopic implantation in female patients. Methods: A retrospective review of all women submitted to AUS implantation between April 2005 and March 2023 was conducted. The AUS was implanted via transperitoneal laparoscopic approach, by two experienced surgeons. The primary endpoint was postoperative continence. Continence was defined as no leakage and no pad usage or leakage and/or pad usage with no impact on social life and failure as leakage and/or pad usage impacting social life. As secondary outcomes, clinical predictive factors for AUS revision and definitive explantation were evaluated. Results: In the last 18 years, females with a mean age of 68 ± 12 years-old were submitted to laparoscopic implantation of AUS. Early overall complication rate was 16%, but only one case was Clavien-Dindo = 3. After a median follow-up of 67 months, 22.2% of the patients needed a device revision, the majority due to mechanical device dysfunction. AUS definitive explantation was performed in 16%, mainly due to urethral/vaginal erosion (9.9%) and infection (6.2%). Patients with age = 70 years and follow-up = 10 years significantly predisposed for device revision. At the time of the last follow-up, 72% of the patients were keeping the urinary continency. Conclusions: Laparoscopic AUS implantation in females is an effective treatment for SUI due to ISD. Meanwhile, adequate patient selection, multidisciplinary evaluation and careful expectation management are essential to achieving good results, concerning their significant complication rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urinary Incontinence (UI) has numerous repercussions in women's lives, and it is underreported/underdiagnosed. Objective: The present study aimed to understand: (1) the differences between women with and without urine loss regarding Quality of Life (QoL) and Sexual Function (SF); (2) the possible moderation role of UI-related beliefs and strategies on the relationship between UI-symptom severity and SF and QoL, in women with UI. Methods: Cross-sectional Design. Participants: Primary aim: Overall, 2,578 women aged 40-65 (Mage = 49.94, DPage = 6.76) were collected online. Secondary aim: 1,538 women who self-reported having urine loss occasionally/frequently (Mage = 50.19, DPage = 6.58). All data analyses were done with IBM SPSS Statistics and R statistical system 4.0 through RStudio. Statistical Path analysis was performed with the lavaan package to study the hypothetical association and moderating effects between the variables. Results: Primary aim: women without UI had a better SF [t(2576) = 3.13, p = 0.002; 95% C.I., 0.18 to 0.80] and QoL [t(2576) = 7.71, p < 0.001; 95% C.I., 3.14 to 5.28] than their counterparts with UI.Secondary aim: UI-related coping strategies attenuated the impact of UI-symptom severity on SF(β = -0.07; p = 0.041); the more dysfunctional the UI-related beliefs were, the poorer QoL was (β = -0.06; p = 0.031); the more frequent the UI-related hiding/defensive strategies were, the poorer QoL was (β = -0.26; p < 0.001). Discussion: Limitations: online data collection, which thwarted the clarification of participants, if needed; absence of a UI medical diagnosis (only self-reported measures were used). Strengths and practical implications: (i) the crucial role of UI-related beliefs and strategies in the QoL of women with UI; (ii) the impact that UI-concealing/defensive strategies have in attenuating the impact of UIsymptom severity on SF, which might be perceived as a short-term benefit and hence contribute to maintaining the UI condition and constitute a barrier to help-seeking, (iii) impact of UI-symptom severity on QoL and SF (including a comparison group entailing women without UI, which is scarcely used); and (iv) the use of gold-standard and psychometrically robust instruments. Conclusion: Changing dysfunctional UI-related beliefs and strategies in clinical settings may improve the QoL; UI-concealing strategies may reinforce themselves by immediate effects on SF, but are not functional in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qi Wang,1,&ast; Yan-Zhen Que,2,&ast; Xiao-Ying Wan,2 Chao-Qin Lin1 1Department of Gynecology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Women and Children’s Critical Diseases Research, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shaxian General Hospital, Sanming, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chao-Qin Lin, Department of Gynecology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Women and Children’s Critical Diseases Research, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, 18 Dao-shan street, Gu-lou District, Fuzhou, 350000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613950422970, Email lcqfjsfy@126.comPurpose: To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and impact on quality of life (QOL) of female urinary incontinence (UI) in a region of southeastern China.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted between June 2022 and March 2023, included 9584 women aged 20– 70 years who completed a standardized questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. This sample size represents almost 10% of the population in the target area.Results: The prevalence of female UI was found to be 24.8%, with stress UI being the most common subtype (12.7%), followed by mixed UI (8.0%) and urgency UI (4.1%). Notably, the prevalence of UI increased progressively with age and body mass index (BMI). The study also revealed several risk factors for UI, including urban residence, postmenopausal status, multiple vaginal deliveries, instrumental vaginal deliveries, previous delivery of macrosomia, and prior history of pelvic floor surgery as determined by multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the study showed that 89.5% of women who reported UI experienced varying degrees of negative impact on their QOL. The incontinence quality of life (I-QOL) scale had an average score of 79.70± 19.03, which decreased with increasing severity of UI. Despite the adverse effects on QOL, only 20.6% of women with UI had sought medical help.Conclusion: UI is common among women in the survey area. UI has been observed to have varying degrees of adverse effects on the QOL of those affected, but most of them do not seek treatment for several reasons, highlighting the urgent need for health authorities to develop effective UI intervention strategies.Keywords: female urinary incontinence, epidemiology, prevalence, risk factors, quality of life, Southern Chinese

Background: Urinary Incontinence (UI) has numerous repercussions in women's lives, and it is underreported/underdiagnosed. Objective: The present study aimed to understand: (1) the differences between women with and without urine loss regarding Quality of Life (QoL) and Sexual Function (SF); (2) the possible moderation role of UI-related beliefs and strategies on the relationship between UI-symptom severity and SF and QoL, in women with UI. Methods: Cross-sectional Design. Participants: Primary aim: Overall, 2,578 women aged 40-65 (Mage = 49.94, DPage = 6.76) were collected online. Secondary aim: 1,538 women who self-reported having urine loss occasionally/frequently (Mage = 50.19, DPage = 6.58). All data analyses were done with IBM SPSS Statistics and R statistical system 4.0 through RStudio. Statistical Path analysis was performed with the lavaan package to study the hypothetical association and moderating effects between the variables. Results: Primary aim: women without UI had a better SF [t(2576) = 3.13, p = 0.002; 95% C.I., 0.18 to 0.80] and QoL [t(2576) = 7.71, p < 0.001; 95% C.I., 3.14 to 5.28] than their counterparts with UI.Secondary aim: UI-related coping strategies attenuated the impact of UI-symptom severity on SF(β = -0.07; p = 0.041); the more dysfunctional the UI-related beliefs were, the poorer QoL was (β = -0.06; p = 0.031); the more frequent the UI-related hiding/defensive strategies were, the poorer QoL was (β = -0.26; p < 0.001). Discussion: Limitations: online data collection, which thwarted the clarification of participants, if needed; absence of a UI medical diagnosis (only self-reported measures were used). Strengths and practical implications: (i) the crucial role of UI-related beliefs and strategies in the QoL of women with UI; (ii) the impact that UI-concealing/defensive strategies have in attenuating the impact of UIsymptom severity on SF, which might be perceived as a short-term benefit and hence contribute to maintaining the UI condition and constitute a barrier to help-seeking, (iii) impact of UI-symptom severity on QoL and SF (including a comparison group entailing women without UI, which is scarcely used); and (iv) the use of gold-standard and psychometrically robust instruments. Conclusion: Changing dysfunctional UI-related beliefs and strategies in clinical settings may improve the QoL; UI-concealing strategies may reinforce themselves by immediate effects on SF, but are not functional in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition in women. The aim of this study is to analyze women with self-reported UI, focusing on socio-demographic data, health-related conditions and comorbidities, and their impact on healthcare resources. Methods: We analyzed data from a population-based survey with a representative sample of Portuguese women aged ≥ 18 years (n = 10,465). Women with self-reported symptoms of UI were distributed according to age, education level, and household income. The comparison of comorbidities and use of healthcare resources between the UI and non-UI groups was adjusted for age, education, and body mass index. We computed weighted prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals using Poisson regression. Results: Female UI prevalence was 9.9%, increasing with age (6.3% for 18- to 39-year-old, 40.8% for 75- to 85-year-old women). The prevalence decreased with education level (36.8% in women with no education, 4.6% in women with more than 12 years of education) and household income (29.8% in the 2nd quintile of income, 9.9% in the 5th quintile). Women with UI had a higher level of comorbidities, especially cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental health disorders. UI was also associated with higher consumption of healthcare resources. Conclusion: UI is highly prevalent among Portuguese women. It increases with age, low education level, and low household income. The use of healthcare resources was higher, possibly related with associated comorbidities. Though obtained in a single European country, these data may be useful to design a comprehensive management of UI in other parts of the western world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: The objective of the study is to evaluate the reliability and quality of the most-viewed female urinary incontinence-related TikTok and YouTube posts. Our second goal is to analyze the differences in the quality and content of videos between these platforms. Methods: We searched for the keyword "female urinary incontinence" on TikTok and YouTube on 1 March 2023. We sorted the videos that appeared out of searches for this keyword by "top" results on TikTok and by "relevance" on YouTube. We excluded the videos that were not in English, whose narrator was unclear, unrelated videos, advertising videos, and duplicate videos. In this study, we included the top 50 videos on both platforms that were directly related to female urinary incontinence. The characteristics of the videos, such as likes, video duration, views, and type of narrator (patient, physician, nonphysician practitioner, and health care company), and DISCERN scores were analyzed. Results: We observed that the median view count (p<0.001) and the median video duration (p<0.001) were higher and longer respectively on YouTube than on TikTok. In addition, the median DISCERN score of these videos was higher on YouTube than on TikTok (p<0.001). Similarly, the overall quality of videos was higher on YouTube than on TikTok (p=0.002). Only in two TikTok and two YouTube videos have the narrators cited a reference. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the present lack of high-quality content available on TikTok and YouTube from both health care and nonhealth care experts. To address this lack of information, health care providers, especially urologists, should take an active role in creating video content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Since formal evidence demonstrating the value of urodynamic studies (UDS) in functional urology remains elusive, we aimed to consider how best to design robust research for this purpose in female urinary incontinence. Methods: An expert group was convened to debate the following considerations: (a) precedents for formally proving the value of a gold standard diagnostic test, (b) key research principles, (c) defining a study population, (d) selecting endpoints, (e) defining interventional and controls arms, (f) blinding, (g) powering the study, and (h) duration of follow‐up. In each case, we considered the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches in terms of scientific validity, ethical acceptability, practicality, and likelihood of bias. Results: We agreed that unlike evaluating therapies, attempting to judge the value of a diagnostic test based on eventual treatment success is conceptually flawed. Nonetheless, we explored the design of a hypothetical randomized controlled trial for this purpose, agreeing that: (1) the study population must sufficiently reflect its real‐world counterpart; (2) clinical endpoints should include not only continence status but also other lower urinary tract symptoms and risks of management; (3) participants in the interventional arm should receive individualized management based on their UDS findings; (4) the most scientifically valid approach to the control arm—empiric treatment—is ethically problematic; (5) sufficient statistical power is imperative; and (6) ≥ 2 years' follow‐up is needed to assess the long‐term impact of management. Conclusions: Although a perfect protocol does not exist, we recommend careful consideration of our observations when reflecting on past studies or planning new prospective research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition that bothers women's lives, including stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). The current non-surgical treatment of Western medicine includes pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), medication, electric stimulation, etc., all of which have varied limitations. For instance, the patients are poor in compliance with PFMT and medication results in frequent adverse effects. Being one of the featured treatments of TCM, moxibustion has several merits including safety, low cost and simple operation. In recent years, the clinical evidences prove increasingly that moxibustion may be effective for women with UI. However, there is no high-quality systematic review of moxibustion for this disease. To evaluate the effect and safety of moxibustion on UI (including SUI, UUI and MUI) among women. From the inception to October 13, 2022, the data of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of moxibustion on UI among women were collected from CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, SinoMed, Web of Science, Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases. Two investigators screened the articles independently and extracted the data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria developed in advance. Using the risk of bias assessment tool of Cochrane Handbook, the included RCTs were evaluated. With RevMan 5.3 software, meta-analysis was performed, and the GRADE tool was adopted to assess evidence certainty of different outcomes. A total of 1176 articles were retrieved and 19 of them with 1397 patients were eligible and included in the review. In experimental groups, moxibustion combined with PFMT was used, while in control groups PFMT was applied alone. And the subjects were all women with SUI. Meta-analysis showed that compared with PFMT alone, moxibustion combined with PFMT reduced the urine leakage volume (1-hour pad test) (MD = -1.95g, 95% CI [-2.32, -1.57], P < 0.001), the frequency of UI in 24-hour (MD = -0.64, 95% CI [-0.88, -0.40], P < 0.001) and the score of the short form of International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ-SF) of women with SUI (MD = -2.53, 95% CI [-3.43, -1.63], P < 0.001); and this combined intervention measure did not increase significantly the adverse events (RR = 0.82, 95% CI [0.15, 4.6], P = 0.82). GRADE assessment showed that the UI frequency in 24-hour and the incidence of adverse events were rated as low quality, the urine leakage volume of 1-hour pad test and ICIQ-SF score were very low quality. Compared with PFMT alone, the intervention combined with moxibustion greatly reduced the urine leakage volume and UI frequency and improved the quality of life (QoL) among women with SUI with favorable safety. Moxibustion could be effective supplementary therapy on SUI among women. However, due to the high risk of bias of the included trials and low certainty of evidence, more high-quality clinical studies are needed to verify the above findings. Registered on PROSPERO: CRD42022297643. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundUrinary Incontinence (UI) has numerous repercussions in women’s lives, and it is underreported/underdiagnosed.ObjectiveThe present study aimed to understand: (1) the differences between women with and without urine loss regarding Quality of Life (QoL) and Sexual Function (SF); (2) the possible moderation role of UI-related beliefs and strategies on the relationship between UI-symptom severity and SF and QoL, in women with UI.MethodsCross-sectional Design. Participants: Primary aim: Overall, 2,578 women aged 40–65 (Mage = 49.94, DPage = 6.76) were collected online. Secondary aim: 1,538 women who self-reported having urine loss occasionally/frequently (Mage = 50.19, DPage = 6.58). All data analyses were done with IBM SPSS Statistics and R statistical system 4.0 through RStudio. Statistical Path analysis was performed with the lavaan package to study the hypothetical association and moderating effects between the variables.ResultsPrimary aim: women without UI had a better SF [t(2576) = 3.13, p = 0.002; 95% C.I., 0.18 to 0.80] and QoL [t(2576) = 7.71, p

Introduction and hypothesis: To determine the prevalence, severity, risk factors and self-perception of female urinary incontinence (UI) in rural Fujian, China. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted between June and October 2022. Women aged 20 to 70 years from rural communities in Fujian Province were selected by multistage random sampling. Data from respondents were collected by completing standardised questionnaires through face-to-face interviews. The main outcome was prevalence and self-perception of UI. Results: A total of 5659 valid questionnaires were collected. The overall prevalence of female UI was 23.6% (95% CI 22.5–24.7). The most common type was stress UI with a prevalence of 14.0% (95% CI 13.1–14.9), followed by mixed UI with a prevalence of 6.1% (95% CI 5.5–6.7), and finally urgency UI with a prevalence of 3.5% (95% CI 3.0–3.9). Multivariate regression analysis suggested that older age, obesity, postmenopausal status, multiple vaginal deliveries, macrosomia, instrumental vaginal delivery and previous pelvic floor surgeries were independently associated with UI (P < 0.05). The overall awareness rate of UI was 24.7%, and older age, lower level of education, and income were significantly associated with a decrease in awareness (P < 0.05). Only 33.3% of respondents believed they should seek medical help for UI. Conclusion: UI affects more than one-fifth of women in rural Fujian, and several factors are thought to be associated with its development. Rural women have a poor self-perception of UI, which is exacerbated by older age, lower levels of education, and lower income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common condition. With increasing lifespan and emphasis on quality of life worldwide, older women with POP may prefer surgical treatment, including colpocleisis. We reviewed the outcome of POP in a case series of colpocleisis. Methods: This study was conducted between 2006 and 2011. Patients had confirmed POP on examination and underwent partial and total colpocleisis. We compared patients’ demographic characteristics, POP severity and surgical outcomes. Results: In total, 55 patients were included. The patients were aged 78.9 + 6.7 years and had body mass index (BMI) of 26.9 ± 4.2. Among the total, 44 (80%) and 11 patients (20%) underwent partial and total colpocleisis respectively. Patients undergoing partial colpocleisis had procidentia less often than those undergoing total colpocleisis (18% v 64%, p=0.01). Mean blood loss and operative time were 157.6 ml ± 119.0 and 65.1 ± 20.3 minutes respectively. Partial colpocleisis had less blood loss (mean 135.7 v 227.2 ml, p=0.02) and shorter operative time (mean 62.6 v 75.0 min, p=0.18). Conclusion: Partial compared to total colpocleisis was associated with shorter operative time and less blood loss. Colpocleisis is a suitable surgical treatment for POP in elderly women who do not wish to preserve the vagina for sexual intercourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of studies reporting the outcomes of ACT® balloons in female patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) due to intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). Methods: In accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) standards, a systematic search of the PubMed (Medline) and Scopus electronic database was performed in June 2022. Terms used for the query were ("female" or "women") and ("adjustable continence therapy" OR "periurethral balloons"). Results: Thirteen studies were included. All were retrospective or prospective case series. The success rates ranged from 13.6% to 68% and the improvement rates from 16% to 83%. The intraoperative complication rate ranged from 3.5 to 25% and consisted of urethral, bladder, or vaginal perforations. The rate of postoperative complications varied from 11 to 56% without major complications. Between 6% and 38% of ACT® balloons were explanted and subsequently reimplanted in 15.2–63% of cases. Conclusion: ACT® balloons can be considered as an option to treat SUI due to ISD in female patients with a relatively modest success rate and quite a high complication rate. Well-designed prospective studies and long-term follow-up data are needed to fully elucidate their role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: Investigate evidence available on the efficacy, safety and acceptability of devices for the management of female urinary incontinence, in which clinical settings and specific female populations they have been tested. Learn more about healthcare professionals' perspectives and experiences regarding female urinary incontinence devices. Background: Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine, estimated to affect 25%–45% of women. Urinary incontinence predisposes the skin to urinary incontinence dermatitis, it is one of the most common documented causes of inappropriate urinary catheterisation, favouring catheter‐associated infection. Several products for managing female urinary incontinence are available, no accurate and systematic data on usability, effectiveness and associated outcomes of these products are available. Design and Methods: A scoping review was conducted, using a methodological framework including the following five steps: identification of the research question; identification of relevant documents; selection of documents included in the review; tracking of information and data; synthesis and reporting of results. Twenty‐one articles were selected. PRISMA‐ScR Checklist was followed. Results: The devices explored in the studies were as follows: female external urinary catheter; disposable sanitary pads, diapers or sanitary pads used to manage urinary incontinence in women; mechanical devices; a new prototype of underwear that tracks where pads lose; reusable underwear for light incontinence; a new intelligent system pad. Conclusions: New smart pads, urine suction systems and female external catheters appear to be effective in preventing and reducing urinary incontinence dermatitis. The female external catheter reduces the days of indwelling catheterisation and could reduce the incidence of catheter associated urinary tract infection; therefore, it should be recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: To review the current use of urethral bulking agents (UBAs) for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Recent Findings: The newest FDA-approved agent, Bulkamid® (2022), which has demonstrated > 60% rate of improvement at 7 years. A systematic review published in 2021 showed similar long-term success rates between Bulkamid® (42–70%), Coaptite® (60–75%), and Macroplastique® (21–80%). To date, direct comparisons of UBAs have not been published. Bulkamid® may have a more favorable side effect profiles with no cases of erosion or migration reported. Summary: Multiple UBAs are available on the market have demonstrated similar improvements in SUI with minimal adverse events. Choice of UBA should be based on surgeon comfort with technique, as each has a unique injection technique, and consideration for potential side effects depending on the material of the agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective Urodynamic studies (UDSs) are a set of tests that assess the storage and emptying of urine, and they are widely used by gynecologists and urologists in the management of urinary incontinence (UI), despite the discussion about its indications. The objectives of the present study were to verify whether UDSs are routinely used in the conservative and surgical approaches to female UI, their other clinical indications, and to compare the responses of Brazilian gynecologists and urologists. Methods The present is an opinion survey applied from August 2020 to January 2021 through a semistructured questionnaire about the clinical practice sent by e-mail to all participants. The responses were compared through statistical analyses. Results Of the 329 participants, 238 were gynecologists (72.3%) and 91, urologists (27.7%). Most gynecologists (73.5%) and urologists (86.6%) do not request UDSs before the conservative treatment of UI; but UDSs are indicated in the preoperative period of anti-incontinence surgeries. Most participants request UDSs in the initial approach to overactive bladder (gynecologists: 88.2%; urologists: 96.7%), and the urologist has greater chance to request this study (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9). For most participants, it is necessary to request uroculture before the UDSs. Conclusion Most Brazilian gynecologists and urologists who participated in the present study do not request UDSs before the conservative treatment of UI, according to national and internacional guidelines, and often request it before the surgical treatment for female UI. The indication of this exam in the initial approach of idiopathic overactive bladder should be reviewed by the participants.

Purpose: To evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture on female urinary incontinence (UI). Methods: We searched for related RCTs of acupuncture on female UI from seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Medline, ClinicalKey, and Clinical trials). We applied CONSORT (2010 year) and STRICTA criteria to evaluate the relevant factors of included RCTs. Two trained researchers scored independently, and concordance was assessed by Cohen's к-statistic. The median and interquartile range summarized the CONSORT and STRICTA scores of the included studies. In addition, two independent sample t tests were used to assess the differences in the study quality between the 2000–2010 and the 2011–2022 years. Results: A total of 25 RCTs were finally included, and the scores were consistent between different assessors. The average CONSORT score was 10.50 (IQR 9.0–15.0) (total score was 25.0). Overall, the studies generally included scientific background (24/25, 96%), inclusion and exclusion criteria (24/25, 96%), outcome indicators (24/25, 96%), randomization methods (21/25, 84%), generalizability (19/25, 76%), and financial support (15/25, 60%). Most lacked sample size calculation (5/25, 20%), type of randomization (5/25, 20%), blinding (6/25, 24%), case screening period and follow-up (4/25, 16%), and study registration (6/25, 24%), etc. The average STRICTA score was 3.380 (IQR 3.02–3.95) (total score was 6.0). There had a lack of education on treatment methods for patients (3/25, 12%) and the qualification of acupuncturists (6/25, 24%). Conclusion: The overall quality of RCTs on acupuncture treatment of female UI was suboptimal. It is still necessary to improve the research methods, especially the application of random methods, blinding, the interpretation of treatment, and the identification qualification of acupuncturists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims:Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition in women and might affect women’s physical and psychological health in different aspects. This study evaluated the effects of UI on the quality of life (QoL) and sexual function in women of reproductive age.Methods:In this prospective case-control study, sexually active and premenopausal women who were admitted to the urogynecology outpatient clinic of our hospital with UI were included. Women without UI complaints were selected for the control group. All the women were asked to fill the Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6), the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7 (IIQ-7), and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire-12 (PISQ-12).Results:There were 64 women [median age: 42 (12)] in the UI group and 58 women [median age: 40 (11)] in the control group. Although the median age was similar in the two groups, the UI group had significantly more gravidas [3 (1) vs. 2 (1); p

Background and objectives: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most common type of urinary incontinence, affecting approximately 46% of adult women. After failure of conservative treatment, the mid-urethral sling (MUS) is considered the most effective and safe surgical procedure for SUI. In 2012, Waltregny et al. introduced a new trans-obturator tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure, named TVT-abbrevo (TVT-A). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the TVT-A procedure in women with pure SUI at 5-year follow-up. Materials and Methods: All women who complained of pure SUI symptoms with concomitant urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) were prospectively enrolled and treated with the TVT-A procedure. Postoperative subjective outcome measures included: International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire–Short Form (ICI-Q SF), Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scale, and patient degree of satisfaction scale. A PGI-I score ≤ 2 and a patient-satisfaction score ≥8 were used to define subjective success. Objective success was defined as the absence of urine leakage during a cough stress test. Adverse events were collected according to the Clavien–Dindo classification during follow-up. Results: Univariable analysis was used to investigate outcomes. Fifty women who met the inclusion criteria underwent TVT-A implantation. At 5 years after TVT-A implantation, 38 out of 45 (84.4%) patients were subjectively cured (p for trend 0.05), and 40 out of 45 (88.9%) patients were objectively cured (p for trend 0.04). A significant trend of de novo OAB symptoms was reported (22.2% [10/45]) at the 5-year follow-up. No serious early or late complications such as urethral/bladder injury, persistent groin-thigh pain, and sexual dysfunction that required mesh removal were detected. The univariate analysis did not reveal any risk factors (i.e., age, body mass index (BMI), menopause, obstetric factors, and preoperative ICIQ- SF questionnaire) statistically associated with failure of the TVT-A procedure. Conclusions: In conclusion, the 5-year follow-up results of this study demonstrated that TVT-A is a safe and effective option for treatment of SUI with a very low rate of post-operative groin–thigh pain [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent stress urinary incontinence (rSUI) represents a major challenge for most clinicians as there is little evidence in the literature on the best option after sling failure. The objective of this study is to summarise the findings on the use of urethral bulking agents (UBAs) in the management of rSUI after the failure of a mid-urethral sling (MUSs). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis, according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines, and selected eleven publications for inclusion in the analysis. We found that the overall cure and improvement rate ranged from 64% to 85% in the included studies, with a pooled value of 75%, compared with pooled failure and re-operation rates of 32% (95% CI: 22%-43%) and 25% (95% CI: 17%-34%), respectively. The I2 test indicated significant statistical heterogeneity among the studies in relation to all the outcome measures; however, no risk of publication bias was found. To explore this heterogeneity in more depth, we performed a sub-group analysis of the two most commonly used bulking agents (Bulkamid and Macroplastique). The pooled values of the cure and improvement rate were 84% (95% CI: 77.0%-90.0%) and 80% (95% CI: 74.0%-85.0%) for Macroplastique and Bulkamid, respectively. We did not find significant heterogeneity or significant differences in the outcome measures in either group. For the first time in literature, our study provides an insight into the use of UBAs after failed MUSs. Although the results seem very promising, future studies with shared protocols are needed in order to recommend the use of UBAs in the treatment of recurrent cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional magnetic stimulation (FMS) is a new technique for the conservative treatment of Urinary incontinence (UI), based on magnetic induction. It induces controlled depolarization of the nerves, resulting in pelvic muscle contraction and sacral S2-S4 roots neuromodulation. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of the new 3 Tesla FMS chair, both in patients with pure stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and in women with pure overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms. A prospective observational study was conducted in our urogynaecologic unit. All the patients involved were consecutive women with pure SUI or pure OAB symptoms treated by a 3 Tesla electromagnetic chair. The primary outcome was a subjective outcome evaluation by the PGI-I Scale and a patient-satisfaction scale. The secondary outcome was the change score of the UDI-6, IIQ-7, ICIQ-SF and OAB-q SF questionnaires from baseline to final visit. At 2 months follow-up, 28 out of 60 patients (47%) with SUI symptoms and 20 out of 40 patients (50%) with OAB symptoms declared themselves cured. Considering cured and improved patients, the subjective cure rates were 68.3% (41/60) and 70% (28/40) for patients with SUI and OAB symptoms, respectively. The results of this study showed that the 3 Tesla electromagnetic chair may be an effective option for the treatment of UI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Hypothesis: The aim was to conduct a scoping review of the literature on the use of machine learning (ML) in female urinary incontinence (UI) over the last decade., Methods: A systematic search was performed among the Medline, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science databases using the following keywords: [Urinary incontinence] and [(Machine learning) or (Predict) or (Prediction model)]. Eligible studies were considered to have applied ML model to explore different management processes of female UI. Data analyzed included the field of application, type of ML, input variables, and results of model validation., Results: A total of 798 papers were identified while 23 finally met the inclusion criteria. The vast majority of studies applied logistic regression to establish models (91.3%, 21/23). Most frequently ML was applied to predict postpartum UI (39.1%, 9/23), followed by de novo incontinence after pelvic floor surgery (34.8%, 8/23).There are also three papers using ML models to predict treatment outcomes and three papers using ML models to assist in diagnosis. Variables for modeling included demographic characteristics, clinical data, pelvic floor ultrasound, and urodynamic parameters. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of these models fluctuated from 0.56 to 0.95, and only 11 studies reported sensitivity and specificity, with sensitivity ranging from 20% to 96.2% and specificity from 59.8% to 94.5%., Conclusion: Machine learning modeling demonstrated good predictive and diagnostic abilities in some aspects of female UI, showing its promising prospects in near future. However, the lack of standardization and transparency in the validation and evaluation of the models, and the insufficient external validation greatly diminished the applicability and reproducibility, thus a focus on filling this gap is strongly recommended for future research., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Objective: To estimate the incidence of urinary incontinence (UI), including its subtypes stress UI (SUI), urgency UI (UUI) and mixed UI (MUI), and to examine risk factors for de novo SUI and UUI in Chinese women. Design: Nationwide longitudinal study. Setting: Six geographic regions of China. Participants: Women aged ≥20 years old were included using a multistage, stratified, cluster sampling method. Methods: This study was conducted between May 2014 and March 2016, with follow up in 2018. Data on demographics, medical history, lifestyle and physiological and anthropometric information were collected. Main outcome measurements: Incidence, rate ratio (RR). Results: Analyses included 24 985 women (mean age 41.9 years).The follow‐up response rate was 55.5%, median follow‐up time was 3.7 years. The standardised incidences of UI, SUI, UUI and MUI were 21.2, 13.1, 3.0 and 5.1 per 1000 person‐years, respectively. Risk factors for de novo SUI included delivery pattern (vaginal spontaneous delivery RR 2.12, 95% CI 1.62–2.78 and instrumental delivery RR 3.30, 95% CI 1.99–5.45), high body mass index (BMI) (overweight RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.33–1.74 and obesity RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.32–2.11), cigarette smoking (RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.12–2.12), chronic cough (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.17–1.76), diabetes (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.10–1.60) and older age (50–59 years RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.16–1.90 and 60–69 years RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.22–2.13).The risk factors significantly associated with de novo UUI were age (RR increased from 1.21, 95% CI 0.74–1.99, at 30–39 years to 6.3, 95% CI 3.85–10.30, at >70 years) and diabetes (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.05–2.09). Conclusions: The incidence of female UI is 21.2 per 1000 person‐years in China. Delivery (vaginal spontaneous delivery, instrumental delivery), high BMI, cigarette smoking, chronic cough, diabetes and older age were risk factors. The incidence of female urinary incontinence was 21.2 per 1000 person‐years in China. Delivery, BMI, diabetes and old age are risk factors. The incidence of female urinary incontinence was 21.2 per 1000 person‐years in China. Delivery, BMI, diabetes and old age are risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent burdensome condition among adult females in the United States, yet rates of care-seeking, evaluation, and treatment are nonoptimal. Components of evaluation and treatment are informed by research and professional society guidelines; however, a visual representation of this guidance does not exist. The objectives of this study are to review the literature regarding female UI care and to synthesize this information into a graphical format to facilitate health education, health care delivery, and shared decision-making. Methods: We reviewed published society guidelines, position statements, and associated references from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Women's Preventive Services Initiative, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, the Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology, the American Urological Association, and the American Urogynecologic Society, and searched PubMed for related literature. We synthesized these findings into an evidence-based infographic depicting female UI risk factors, influences on care-seeking and provision, screening, evaluation, and a stepwise treatment approach. Results: This study summarizes current evidence and professional guidelines related to female UI into a compelling visual format and accompanying narrative. The infographic is intended as a tool for patient education, clinical practice, and research to facilitate shared decision-making and health care delivery. Conclusions: Female UI is highly prevalent, yet diagnosis and treatment are suboptimal. Use of an evidence-based infographic may positively impact patient knowledge and certainty about UI treatment and support health care provider counseling and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: The physiotherapy-led pelvic health clinic (PLPHC) is an advanced practice clinic that manages women from the urogynaecology waitlist with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and/or urinary incontinence (UI) at Gold Coast Health, Australia. This study was aimed at determining re-referral rates and reasons for re-presentation of women previously managed and discharged from the PLPHC. We hypothesised that there would be low representation rates for the same condition within 12 months of discharge. Methods: A retrospective audit was undertaken of all (n = 209) patients discharged between 1 January and 31 December 2017. Re-presentation rates and reasons for re-referral for women seen in the PLPHC and discharged without requiring urogynaecology medical specialist review were analysed and descriptive analysis performed. Result: Of the 209 patients, 67 were referred to, or had, urogynaecology medical specialist review after their initial physiotherapy care and were removed from further analysis. Of the remaining 142 patients, who were initially managed by physiotherapy only, 10 (7.1%) women were re-referred to specialist medical outpatient gynaecology and urology out-patient departments, for management of a different diagnosis, and 10 (7.1%) for their original diagnoses, within 12 months of discharge. Of the latter, 1 patient required further physiotherapy and urogynaecologist management; 7 patients required ongoing pessary management; 1 patient continued with urologist medical management; and 1 failed to attend. Conclusion: This study presents novel data on low re-presentation rates in the 12 months following discharge for patients with POP or UI managed in a PLPHC; and provides further support for advanced scope of practice physiotherapy gynaecological service models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition in women and might affect women's physical and psychological health in different aspects. This study evaluated the effects of UI on the quality of life (QoL) and sexual function in women of reproductive age. Methods: In this prospective case-control study, sexually active and premenopausal women who were admitted to the urogynecology outpatient clinic of our hospital with UI were included. Women without UI complaints were selected for the control group. All the women were asked to fill the Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6), the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7 (IIQ-7), and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire-12 (PISQ-12). Results: There were 64 women [median age: 42 (12)] in the UI group and 58 women [median age: 40 (11)] in the control group. Although the median age was similar in the two groups, the UI group had significantly more gravidas [3 (1) vs. 2 (1); p<0.00] and parity [2.5 (1) vs. 2 (1); p<0.001], body mass index [27.9 (7.2) vs. 24.9 (5.1); p=0.002], and Pelvic Organ Prolapse-Quantification [0 (0) vs. 0 (0); p=0.03] levels. The most common UI type was mixed UI (64.1%) followed by the stress (20.3%) and urge UI (15.6%). The UI group had significantly higher scores in both the subscale and total scores in IIQ-7 and UDI-6 questionnaires (p<0.001). For the PSIQ-12 questionnaire, the behavioral-emotive subscale did not differ between the two groups, while physical and partner subscales and the total score were significantly lower in the UI group (p<0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that UI had a negative impact on QoL and sexual function in women of reproductive age. Sexual dysfunction occurs mainly on physical and partner-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most common type of urinary incontinence, affecting approximately 46% of adult women. After failure of conservative treatment, the mid-urethral sling (MUS) is considered the most effective and safe surgical procedure for SUI. In 2012, Waltregny et al. introduced a new trans-obturator tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure, named TVT-abbrevo (TVT-A). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the TVT-A procedure in women with pure SUI at 5-year follow-up. Materials and Methods: All women who complained of pure SUI symptoms with concomitant urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) were prospectively enrolled and treated with the TVT-A procedure. Postoperative subjective outcome measures included: International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire–Short Form (ICI-Q SF), Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scale, and patient degree of satisfaction scale. A PGI-I score ≤ 2 and a patient-satisfaction score ≥8 were used to define subjective success. Objective success was defined as the absence of urine leakage during a cough stress test. Adverse events were collected according to the Clavien–Dindo classification during follow-up. Results: Univariable analysis was used to investigate outcomes. Fifty women who met the inclusion criteria underwent TVT-A implantation. At 5 years after TVT-A implantation, 38 out of 45 (84.4%) patients were subjectively cured (p for trend 0.05), and 40 out of 45 (88.9%) patients were objectively cured (p for trend 0.04). A significant trend of de novo OAB symptoms was reported (22.2% [10/45]) at the 5-year follow-up. No serious early or late complications such as urethral/bladder injury, persistent groin-thigh pain, and sexual dysfunction that required mesh removal were detected. The univariate analysis did not reveal any risk factors (i.e., age, body mass index (BMI), menopause, obstetric factors, and preoperative ICIQ- SF questionnaire) statistically associated with failure of the TVT-A procedure. Conclusions: In conclusion, the 5-year follow-up results of this study demonstrated that TVT-A is a safe and effective option for treatment of SUI with a very low rate of post-operative groin–thigh pain

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common problem worldwide. It has a major impact on physical and social activities and interpersonal relationships. UI is common in women, but is under-reported and under-treated. It affects the quality of life of female patients severely. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been proposed as potentially effective interventions for female UI. Hence, for the benefit of acupuncture practitioners around the world, the World Federation of Acupuncture-moxibustion Societies initiated a project to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the use of acupuncture and moxibustion to treat female UI. This CPG was developed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, referring to the principles of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. During the development of the CPG, the guideline development group (GDG) played an important role. The clinical questions, recommendations and therapeutic protocols were all formulated by GDG using the modified Delphi method. This CPG contains ten recommendations about the use of acupuncture and moxibustion interventions for ten clinical questions, which include nine conditional recommendations for the intervention and one conditional recommendation for either the intervention or the comparison. This CPG also provides one protocol for conventional filiform needle therapy, two therapy protocols for deep needling stimulation on lumbosacral acupoints, and four moxibustion therapy protocols, based on the protocols presented in randomized controlled trials reviewed by the GDG. Please cite this article as: Yang C, Wang SZ, Chen S, Du S, Wang GQ, Guo W, Xie XL, Peng BH, Du SH, Zhao JP. Clinical practice guideline for acupuncture and moxibustion: Female urinary incontinence. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(3): 258-269., (Copyright © 2024 Shanghai Yueyang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Taking the recommendations development of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) standard Clinical Practice Guideline for Female Urinary Incontinence as an example, this study analyzed the consensus expert composition, specific consensus process, and results in the development of the guideline's recommendations. It systematically examined the advantages of using the modified Delphi method in the formation of recommendations for acupuncture and moxibustion clinical practice guideline, with the aim of providing reference for the development of acupuncture and moxibustion guidelines in the same field.

Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary loss of urine. It is highly prevalent in women and has a great biopsychosocial impact. Rehabilitation is established as the first-line treatment, although its use has not been protocolized., Objective: To identify which personal risk factors and type of treatment applied are statistically related to patient improvement., Study Design: Retrospective cohort study., Methods: Retrospective cohort study of female patients diagnosed with urinary incontinence who attended the Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation Clinic of the Río Hortega University Hospital, receiving rehabilitation treatment during the year 2021. The minimum follow-up period was 12 weeks. The presence or absence of improvement was evaluated according to seven objective and subjective variables, and improvement was established as positive evolution in at least five of the seven variables., Results: A total of 114 women with urinary incontinence were analyzed. The most frequent types of incontinence were stress (53%) and mixed (36%). The most important risk factors and associated pathology were episiotomy (68%), repeated urinary tract infections (61%), and constipation (40.9%). None of these factors showed a statistically significant relationship with patient improvement. The most used rehabilitative treatment was kinesitherapy+biofeedback (51%) which showed a statistically significant relationship with the improvement of these patients (P=.037) together with biofeedback+posterior tibial nerve electrostimulation (PTNS) (P=.044)., Conclusion: Biofeedback combined with kinesitherapy or PTNS are established as the most effective rehabilitative procedures., (Copyright © 2023 AEU. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

This article reports a case of a 40-year-old woman with a history of myelomeningocele and neurogenic urinary incontinence who developed erosion and fistula formation following the placement of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) when she was 18 years old. The patient had a long-standing history of urinary incontinence that was unresponsive to prior surgeries for meningomyelocele. She reported the loss of uro-fecal material from the vagina but did not seek further medical evaluation until the age of 40. Clinical examination revealed protruding tubes from the suprapubic region. The administration of a contrast agent through one of the two tubes led to the visualization of intestinal loops, and the administration of a contrast agent through the urethra confirmed the connection between the rectum, urinary bladder, and vagina. Due to the absence of reliable surgical history and in the absence of abdominal discomfort, bilateral nephrostomies were initially performed to prevent further uro-fecal material loss. The patient showed significant improvement, decided to not seek further evaluation and surgical treatment, and remained socially integrated during the follow-up period of 20 years. This case highlights the severe consequences of AUS placement in a young woman with neurogenic urinary incontinence and emphasizes the importance of proper patient selection and management in the presence of underlying neurological disorders., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Diamantidis et al.)

Background: Stress urinary incontinence is a common condition that can be treated conservatively and/or surgically. Given the risks of surgery, developing effective nonsurgical treatment options would be beneficial. Some studies have suggested that laser therapy may improve or cure stress urinary incontinence. However, there is a lack of sham-controlled randomized controlled trials to judge treatment efficacy.Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of CO2 vaginal laser vs sham therapy for treating stress urinary incontinence.Study Design: This was a multicenter, participant-blinded, sham-controlled, parallel group (1:1) superiority randomized controlled trial performed in outpatient clinics in 2 hospitals. We included women aged 18 to 80 years with objective and subjective stress urinary incontinence. Participants had undertaken or declined supervised pelvic floor muscle training. Intervention was performed using a CO2 fractionated vaginal laser. Participants underwent 3 treatments, 4 weeks apart, with increasing energy and density settings. Sham treatment was performed using an identical technique with a deactivated pedal. The primary outcome was the subjective stress urinary incontinence rate (proportion with leak with cough, sneeze, or laughter) at 3 months after completion of treatment. Secondary outcomes included objective stress urinary incontinence, change in the disease-specific patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, and adverse effects. Categorical outcomes were compared using the chi square test and continuous outcomes using analysis of covariance, adjusting for the baseline score.Results: There were 52 participants who received laser and 49 who received sham treatment. One participant in each group withdrew from the study before the endpoint, and 2 participants in the laser group did not participate in the follow-up visits. Participant mean age was 53 (34-79) years. Mean body mass index was 26.1 (18.1-49.6); 90% were vaginally parous. At 3 months, there was no difference between the sham and active treatment arm in subjective stress urinary incontinence (46 [96%] vs 48 [98%]; relative risk, 0.98 [95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.05]; P=.55) or in objective stress urinary incontinence (37 [80%] vs 33 [80%]; relative risk, 0.99 [95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.23]; P=.995). Patient-reported outcomes and health-related quality of life were also comparable between the groups. Vaginal bleeding occurred in 3 participants after laser and 1 participant after sham treatment. Pain during treatment did not differ between laser and sham treatment.Conclusion: We were unable to show an improvement in stress urinary incontinence after CO2 vaginal laser therapy compared with sham treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stress urinary incontinence is a common condition that can be treated conservatively and/or surgically. Given the risks of surgery, developing effective nonsurgical treatment options would be beneficial. Some studies have suggested that laser therapy may improve or cure stress urinary incontinence. However, there is a lack of sham-controlled randomized controlled trials to judge treatment efficacy., Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of CO 2 vaginal laser vs sham therapy for treating stress urinary incontinence., Study Design: This was a multicenter, participant-blinded, sham-controlled, parallel group (1:1) superiority randomized controlled trial performed in outpatient clinics in 2 hospitals. We included women aged 18 to 80 years with objective and subjective stress urinary incontinence. Participants had undertaken or declined supervised pelvic floor muscle training. Intervention was performed using a CO 2 fractionated vaginal laser. Participants underwent 3 treatments, 4 weeks apart, with increasing energy and density settings. Sham treatment was performed using an identical technique with a deactivated pedal. The primary outcome was the subjective stress urinary incontinence rate (proportion with leak with cough, sneeze, or laughter) at 3 months after completion of treatment. Secondary outcomes included objective stress urinary incontinence, change in the disease-specific patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, and adverse effects. Categorical outcomes were compared using the chi square test and continuous outcomes using analysis of covariance, adjusting for the baseline score., Results: There were 52 participants who received laser and 49 who received sham treatment. One participant in each group withdrew from the study before the endpoint, and 2 participants in the laser group did not participate in the follow-up visits. Participant mean age was 53 (34-79) years. Mean body mass index was 26.1 (18.1-49.6); 90% were vaginally parous. At 3 months, there was no difference between the sham and active treatment arm in subjective stress urinary incontinence (46 [96%] vs 48 [98%]; relative risk, 0.98 [95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.05]; P=.55) or in objective stress urinary incontinence (37 [80%] vs 33 [80%]; relative risk, 0.99 [95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.23]; P=.995). Patient-reported outcomes and health-related quality of life were also comparable between the groups. Vaginal bleeding occurred in 3 participants after laser and 1 participant after sham treatment. Pain during treatment did not differ between laser and sham treatment., Conclusion: We were unable to show an improvement in stress urinary incontinence after CO 2 vaginal laser therapy compared with sham treatment., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)