Search

Introduction and Hypothesis: The goal was to identify correlates of patient satisfaction with drug and behavioral treatments for urge-predominant incontinence, which may help tailor treatments to improve satisfaction., Methods: Planned secondary analysis of a multi-center, clinical trial randomizing 307 women to 10 weeks of tolterodine alone or combined with behavioral training. Satisfaction was measured using the Patient Satisfaction Question (PSQ). Potential correlates included baseline demographics, incontinence characteristics and prior treatments, history and physical parameters, expectations of treatment success, and outcome variables including the Global Perception of Improvement (GPI) and Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI)., Results: After multivariable analysis, every 10-point increase in UDI change score increased odds of satisfaction by 11% (OR 1.11; 1.04-1.19). Odds of satisfaction increased among women reporting "much better" on the GPI (OR 13.8; 4.94-38.60)., Conclusions: Treatment satisfaction for women with urge-predominant incontinence was associated with patient-related outcomes reflecting impression of improvement and bother from incontinence-related symptoms.

Context: Although behavioral therapy has been shown to improve postoperative recovery of continence, there have been no controlled trials of behavioral therapy for postprostatectomy incontinence persisting more than 1 year., Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral therapy for reducing persistent postprostatectomy incontinence and to determine whether the technologies of biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation enhance the effectiveness of behavioral therapy., Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective randomized controlled trial involving 208 community-dwelling men aged 51 through 84 years with incontinence persisting 1 to 17 years after radical prostatectomy was conducted at a university and 2 Veterans Affairs continence clinics (2003-2008) and included a 1-year follow-up after active treatment. Twenty-four percent of the men were African American; 75%, white., Interventions: After stratification by type and frequency of incontinence, participants were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: 8 weeks of behavioral therapy (pelvic floor muscle training and bladder control strategies); behavioral therapy plus in-office, dual-channel electromyograph biofeedback and daily home pelvic floor electrical stimulation at 20 Hz, current up to 100 mA (behavior plus); or delayed treatment, which served as the control group., Main Outcome Measure: Percentage reduction in mean number of incontinence episodes after 8 weeks of treatment as documented in 7-day bladder diaries., Results: Mean incontinence episodes decreased from 28 to 13 per week (55% reduction; 95% confidence interval [CI], 44%-66%) after behavioral therapy and from 26 to 12 (51% reduction; 95% CI, 37%-65%) after behavior plus therapy. Both reductions were significantly greater than the reduction from 25 to 21 (24% reduction; 95% CI, 10%-39%) observed among controls (P = .001 for both treatment groups). However, there was no significant difference in incontinence reduction between the treatment groups (P = .69). Improvements were durable to 12 months in the active treatment groups: 50% reduction (95% CI, 39.8%-61.1%; 13.5 episodes per week) in the behavioral group and 59% reduction (95% CI, 45.0%-73.1%; 9.1 episodes per week) in the behavior plus group (P = .32)., Conclusions: Among patients with postprostatectomy incontinence for at least 1 year, 8 weeks of behavioral therapy, compared with a delayed-treatment control, resulted in fewer incontinence episodes. The addition of biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation did not result in greater effectiveness., Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00212264.

Urinary incontinence is a common geriatric syndrome that affects at least 1 in 3 older women and can greatly diminish quality of life. Incontinence has been associated with increased social isolation, falls, fractures, and admission to long-term care facilities. Often unreported and thus untreated, it is important to include incontinence as part of the review of systems for all older women. Using the case of Mrs F, we highlight the chronicity of incontinence and discuss the evidence base for evaluation of incontinence in older women, with proper initial diagnosis of the type of incontinence-stress, urgency, or mixed-in order to prescribe optimal treatment. We present an evidence-based discussion of available incontinence treatments including pelvic floor muscle exercises, stress strategies, urge-suppression strategies, fluid management, medications, intravaginal pessaries, intravesical injection of botulinum toxin, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, sacral neuromodulation, and surgical procedures for stress incontinence. Special considerations in evaluation and treatment of patients with dementia are presented. Urinary incontinence treatments yield high levels of patient satisfaction and improvements in quality of life.

The objective of this study was to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with incontinence-related quality of life (QoL) in 655 women with stress urinary incontinence who elected surgical treatment. The following factors were examined for their association with QoL as measured with the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ): number of incontinence (UI) episodes/day; self-reported type of UI symptoms (stress and urge); sexual function as measured by the Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire; symptom bother as measured by the Urogenital Distress Inventory; as well as other clinical and sociodemographic factors. A stepwise least-squares regression analysis was used to identify factors significantly associated with QoL. Lower QoL was related to the greater frequency of stress UI symptoms, increasing severity, greater symptom bother, prior UI surgery or treatment, and sexual dysfunction (if sexually active). Health and sociodemographic factors associated with lower incontinence-related QoL included current tobacco use, younger age, lower socioeconomic status, and Hispanic ethnicity.

Background: Non-surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is recommended as first-line therapy, yet few prospective studies and no randomized trials compare the most common non-surgical treatments for SUI., Purpose: To present the design and methodology of the ambulatory treatments for leakage associated with stress (ATLAS) trial, a randomized clinical trial comparing three interventions for predominant SUI in women: intravaginal continence pessary; behavioral therapy (including pelvic floor muscle training and exercise and bladder control strategies); and a combination of the two treatments., Methods: Treatment outcome measures, collected at 12 weeks and six and 12 months post randomization, include the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), the Stress Incontinence Scale of the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI), seven-day bladder diaries, Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ), Pelvic Organ Prolapse-Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire (PISQ-12), Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)., Limitations: The study design reduces most common biases, but some degree of selection bias may remain., Conclusion: This trial will provide useful information to help counsel women with stress and mixed incontinence about the relative efficacy and satisfaction with pessary, behavioral therapy and both treatments combined.