Urinary incontinence in adults

Urinary incontinence is both a common and sometimes debilitating condition in adults. The reversible and chronic causes of urinary incontinence can be elicited from a good history and targeted examination. Voiding diaries and questionnaires can be helpful to quantify symptoms. The type of incontinence needs to be defined as well as the degree of bother that it causes the patient. In mixed types of urinary incontinence the most bothersome aspect is managed first. Once established, the management starts with conservative strategies such as caffeine avoidance and fluid management or pelvic floor exercise. Medical therapy can help for urgency incontinence and both urgency and stress urinary incontinence can be managed with surgery for refractory cases.     

Understanding the elements of overactive bladder: questions raised by the EPIC study

OBJECTIVES

To compare the prevalence of frequency and nocturia and the bother they impose in a population‐based sample of men and women using current International Continence Society (ICS) definitions of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and commonly used alternative definitions of these LUTS to emphasize the importance of standardizing the definitions when evaluating overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome; we also describe the spectrum of LUTS and bother they impose in this population with OAB.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Several validated disease‐specific measures were used in a population‐based, cross‐sectional telephone survey of adults aged ≥18 years in five countries. The population with OAB was defined as those participants who answered ‘yes’ to questions about urgency or urgency urinary incontinence according to ICS standards. The prevalence of daytime frequency and nocturia within the OAB population was examined using two different criteria for each symptom. Frequency was defined using the current ICS definition (i.e. subject’s perception of whether they urinated too often during the day) or more than eight daytime voids. Nocturia was defined according to the ICS definition of having to wake once or more per night to void and using the threshold of waking twice or more per night to urinate. Urinary symptom bother within the OAB population was compared using the different criteria for frequency and nocturia.

RESULTS

In all, 1434 participants (502 men and 932 women) were classified as having OAB; 31% of men and 25% of women with OAB had daytime frequency consistent with the ICS definition. The ICS‐defined frequency identified a population with a varied distribution of reported daytime voiding frequencies; most respondents reported frequencies below the threshold of nine daytime voids. The ICS‐defined daytime frequency was reported as bothersome by more than half of the OAB population (46% of men, 66% of women). Of the OAB population, ≈75% reported one or more nocturia episodes per night, and ≈40% reported two or more per night. The proportion of the OAB population that was bothered by nocturia increased markedly as the number of nocturia episodes increased. Among those with OAB, the most prevalent combination of OAB symptoms was urgency and nocturia. More than half of those with OAB reported urgency combined with three or more other LUTS (including voiding and postmicturition symptoms), and the number of LUTS reported increased with age. The proportion of the population reporting symptom bother increased as the number of reported LUTS in that population increased.

CONCLUSIONS

The ICS definitions for daytime frequency as ‘the subject’s perception of urinating too often’ and for nocturia as ‘one or more episodes per night’ adequately described bladder symptoms within the OAB population when assessed by the level of symptom bother. Urgency was uncommon in isolation and did not alone impose as high a level of bother as when combined with other LUTS. In this population, the most predominant manifestation of OAB was a combination of urgency with one or more other OAB symptoms. Symptom bother became more common as the number of symptoms reported increased. LUTS other than the defining symptoms of OAB were also highly prevalent within the OAB population.     

Patient‐selected goals in overactive bladder: a placebo controlled randomized double‐blind trial of transdermal oxybutynin for the treatment of urgency and urge incontinence

Study Type – Therapy (RCT)
Level of Evidence 1b What’s k n own on the subject? and What does the study add? In common with other anticholinergics, transdermal oxybutynin improves symptoms, and disease specific quality of life for patients with urgency incontinence. Achievement of patient selected goals for treatment of overactive bladder has also been demonstrated in uncontrolled studies. Over a four week period, transdermal oxybutynin improved urinary urgency for patients with overactive bladder, including those without incontinence. However, in comparison to placebo it did not lead to significant achievement of patients’ own therapeutic goals.

OBJECTIVE

To assess patient selected goal improvement with transdermal oxybutynin, in a representative population of adult women with overactive bladder (OAB).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Adult women with ≥3 month history of OAB symptoms, with or without urgency urinary incontinence, were recruited from a tertiary referral urogynaecology unit. Participants were allocated to either transdermal oxybutynin 3.9 mg/day or matching placebo patches in a double‐blind, randomized parallel group design, over 4 weeks. Patient‐selected goal achievement was defined as the primary outcome measure. Participants selected their own goals for treatment at baseline, and subsequently scored achievement of these goals on a visual analogue scale. They completed 3‐day bladder diaries incorporating the Patients Perception of Intensity of Urgency Scale (PPIUS) to assess urgency and urgency incontinence episodes. Quality of life was assessed using the King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ).

RESULTS

A total of 96 women were randomized; 78 (81.3%) participants completed 4 weeks double‐blind treatment. There was no significant difference between mean goal achievement in the transdermal oxybutynin and placebo groups (41.9% (SD 31.3) vs 32.2% (SD 27.3), P= 0.203). Transdermal oxybutynin was associated with significant improvements in urgency episodes (?1.23 episodes/day (SD1.40) vs ?0.21 episodes/day (SD 1.58), P= 0.01). Both groups made non‐significantly different improvements in KHQ scores; 18 (38.2%) patients in the transdermal oxybutynin group experienced either erythema or pruritus, with 7 (14.9%) experiencing at least one systemic adverse event.

CONCLUSIONS

In women with OAB, in comparison with placebo, transdermal oxybutynin 3.9 mg/day leads to significant objective improvements in urinary urgency, but with no significant difference observed in achievement of patients’ own goals for therapy, or improvement in disease specific quality of life.     

Outcome of the artificial urinary sphincter in female patients

PURPOSE: We reviewed the outcome in female patients at our unit in whom an artificial urinary sphincter was inserted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed notes on 68 patients and mailed a questionnaire to those without recent followup. RESULTS: Median time since insertion was 12 years. Overall 25 patients (37%) had the original artificial urinary sphincter in situ and were dry at a median followup of 7 years. The artificial urinary sphincter was replaced for loss of function in 12 patients, of whom 11 were dry with the replaced device. The device was removed for erosion or infection in 31 patients, of whom 19 underwent successful replacement or were continent after removal. Overall 55 of 68 patients (81%) were continent. Those with neuropathic bladder dysfunction achieved a continence rate of greater than 90%, although half required sphincter removal initially. When the indication for insertion was stress incontinence, 70% of the patients had the original or a replaced artificial urinary sphincter in situ and 82% were continent. All patients with previous pelvic irradiation had the sphincter removed and urinary diversion was done. CONCLUSIONS: The overall continence rate in female patients after insertion of an artificial urinary sphincter is satisfactory. A satisfactory outcome was achieved in terms of stress incontinence and we would recommend an artificial urinary sphincter after an adequate anti-stress incontinence operation fails. Continence in patients with neuropathic bladder dysfunction is excellent and the artificial urinary sphincter should be considered first line treatment in this group, although the risk of revision surgery is high. Pelvic irradiation is a contraindication to the artificial urinary sphincter in female patients.     

Pathophysiology of urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is highly prevalent, causes significant bother and has an immense social impact adversely affecting quality of life, productivity and relationships. Millions of individuals worldwide are affected, the vast majority being women. Stress, urgency and mixed urinary incontinence are the most common types, although other types of incontinence also occur. Stress incontinence occurs as a consequence of deficiency in the continence-maintaining mechanisms and urgency incontinence due to inappropriate activity of the bladder (detrusor) muscle, both being a failure of the storage function of the lower urinary tract. The pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie the various types of incontinence have long been contested and still remain the subject of much research. In this article we will review the most current theories for the development of incontinence with emphasis on the two commonest types of incontinence (stress and urgency). To fully understand the causal mechanisms it is vital that the normal function and innervation of the lower urinary tract is appreciated and this is also covered at the outset of this review.     

Urgency assessment in the evaluation of overactive bladder (OAB)

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a highly prevalent urinary condition with a profound affect on quality of life. Urinary urgency is the cornerstone symptom that defines OAB and drives all subsequent OAB symptoms. The clinical assessment and measurement of urgency has been limited by its definition, limited understanding of well-defined pathophysiology, and psychometric measurement properties. This review outlines the important issues relevant to the clinical assessment and measurement scales commonly used to evaluate and measure urinary urgency. This will have important implications toward further understanding and advancing the field of overactive bladder.     

Comparison of the long-term outcomes between incontinent men and women treated with artificial urinary sphincter

PURPOSE: We compared the long-term outcome of AUS between men and women who received the device for the management of stress urinary incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1983 and January 2004, 126 consecutive patients received the AUS AMS 800 at our center placed by the senior author (ACD). Of these patients 108 (53 men, 55 women) and 168 devices (88 in men, 80 in women) were available for review. Outcome measures include complications, duration and etiology of AUS failure, and satisfactory continence. RESULTS: Mean followup was 8.1 +/- 5.6 years. Of the 108 patients 18 (40%) men and 31 (56%) women had no complications (p = 0.09). Of the 168 devices 76 (45%) eventually failed (44 or 50% in men, 32 or 40% in women, p = 0.19). The incidences of failed device classified as mechanical, nonmechanical or iatrogenic were not significantly different (p = 0.07). Median device durations were 6.9 and 11.2 years in men and women, respectively (p = 0.002). Satisfactory continence was achieved in 82% of patients, in 43 (81%) men and in 46 (84%) women (p = 0.73), including 5 (9%) men and 35 (64%) women who were dry (0 pads, p = 0.01), 28 (53%) men and 4 (7%) women who wear 1 pad (p = 0.01), and 10 (19%) men and 7 (13%) women who use 2 pads per day. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in overall satisfactory continence and device failure rates. However, women have a higher dry rate (0 pad use) and longer functioning device duration compared to their male counterparts.