AUA Guidelines on Stress Urinary Incontinence: What Is New in the Guidelines?

Purpose of the Review

Stress urinary incontinence is a prevalent condition that can have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. Once judicious assessment of degree of bother the symptoms are causing a patient is performed, it is crucial to incorporate appropriate counseling and patient education as part of symptom management. Treatment modalities have evolved over the last several decades, and both nonsurgical and surgical treatment options should be discussed. This review highlights the recently published guidelines update from the American Urological Association (AUA) and the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) for recommendations regarding the workup and treatment of stress urinary incontinence and a comprehensive overview of outcomes.

Recent Findings

A new set of guidelines addressing surgical options for female stress incontinence based upon a widespread literature and abstract search that spanned from January 2005 to September 2016 was recently published by the AUA and SUFU. This extensive undertaking highlights systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and observational studies in an effort to reflect the evolution of anti-incontinence therapies.

Summary

This review focuses on the new changes from the recent guidelines for surgical management of stress urinary incontinence. As part of today’s contemporary landscape of patient-centered healthcare, emphasis is placed on patient counseling and outlining patient expectations, with communication and early intervention playing a large role in surgical management.

     

Intravascular MRI for Plaque Characterization: Are We Close to Reality?

Non-invasive external magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of large vessel atherosclerosis is a robust and promising imaging modality that can be applied for the evaluation of the atherosclerotic process in large vessels. However, it requires expertise for setup and time for data acquisition and analysis. Intravascular MRI is a promising tool, but its use remains at the pre-clinical stage within selected research groups. In this review, the current status and future role of intravascular MRI for atherosclerotic plaque characterization are summarized, along with important challenges which will be necessary to overcome prior to the wide adoption of this technique.     

Drugs for Prevention and Treatment of Aortic Stenosis: How Close Are We?

Aortic stenosis is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases in the world. Extensive work on the underlying pathophysiology responsible for calcific aortic valve disease and its progression to aortic stenosis has described a complex process involving inflammation, lipid deposition, mineralisation, and genetic factors such as elevated lipoprotein(a). With the advancement of gene silencing technology and development of novel therapeutic agents, we may now be closer than ever to having medical therapies that prevent, or at least slow the progression of aortic stenosis. In this review, we highlight the pathophysiology and risk factors of calcific aortic valve disease, along with current, potential, and emerging novel medical therapies. We also provide potential explanations for the failure of statin trials and suggest new avenues for research and new randomised trials in this area.     

Incontinence After a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy: Are We Underestimating It?

PURPOSE This study was designed to assess the long-term outcomes and quality of life of patients who have undergone a sphincterotomy for chronic anal fissure.METHODS The medical records of patients who underwent this operation between 1992 and 2001 were reviewed. A questionnaire was mailed to assess their current status, along with the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life and Fecal Incontinence Severity Index surveys.RESULTS A total of 298 patients were identified (158 males; 53 percent; mean age, 46.9 years; mean follow-up, 4.3 years). Postal survey response was 62 percent. Recurrence of the fissure occurred in 17 patients (5.6 percent) of whom 9 (52 percent) were females. Significant factors that resulted in recurrence were initial sphincterotomy performed in the office and local anesthesia (P < 0.001). When comparing office records and response to the postal survey, significantly more patients had flatal incontinence than that recorded in their medical records (P < 0.001). Twenty-nine percent of females who had a vaginal delivery recorded problems with incontinence to flatus (P = 0.04). Temporary incontinence was reported in 31 percent of patients and persistent incontinence to gas occurred in 30 percent. Stool incontinence was not a significant finding. The overall quality-of-life scores were in the normal range, whereas the median Fecal Incontinence Severity Index score was 12.CONCLUSIONS Recurrence after lateral internal sphincterotomy may be higher after local anesthesia or office procedure. Females who have two or more previous vaginal deliveries should be warned about possible flatal incontinence. Long-term flatal incontinence that is not reported to the caregiver may occur in up to one-third of patients and could be permanent.Read at the meeting of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Dallas, Texas, May 8 to 13, 2004.Reprints are not available.     

Is There a Relationship between Vitamin B12 and Stress Urinary Incontinence?

Objective: Pelvic floor, which includes collagen, elastin, and smooth muscle, is very important in preventing urinary incontinence (UI). Studies suggest that vitamin B12 is involved in collagen synthesis. In the present study we aimed to determine the association of vitamin B12 deficiency with stress UI in a sample of Turkish women. Methods: Forty‐two women with stress UI or mixed UI who met the inclusion criteria from a group of 541 women with stress UI or mixed UI, were included in the study. The study group was compared with a control group of 20 healthy women without UI who matched to the study group's demographic data and met the inclusion criteria. Demographic data as well as duration of symptoms and vitamin B12 levels were analyzed and compared. Results: The mean ages of the study and the control groups were 50.04 ± 4.6 and 49.02 ± 5.1 years, respectively. Vitamin B12 level was 300.95 ± 142.9 pg/mL in the study group, whereas in the control group it was 598.98 ± 120.3 pg/mL (P < 0.001). In the study group, 66.6% of the patients with stress UI had vitamin B12 levels less than 300 pg/mL. When the duration of symptoms and vitamin B12 levels were compared, women with vitamin B12 levels less than 200 pg/mL had symptoms for a longer duration (P < 0.01). Conclusion: One of the main etiologic factors for stress UI is a defect in pelvic floor support. Vitamin B12 is lower in women with stress UI. Analysis of vitamin B12 levels should also be considered in the evaluation of women with stress UI.     

Evaluation and Treatment of Persistent Stress Urinary Incontinence after Male Anti-Incontinence Procedure – AUS or Sling

The two most common anti-incontinence procedures performed for postprostatectomy incontinence (PPI) are placements of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) and male sling. While both procedures offer high success rates, 10-30 % of patients after AUS and 20-45 % of patients after male sling require evaluation for persistent PPI. The goals of evaluation for persistent PPI should be to verify the diagnosis of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and to assess for concurrent bladder dysfunction. If the initial procedure was an AUS, and recurrent intrinsic sphincter deficiency is diagnosed, it is vital to distinguish among mechanical failure, urethral atrophy and erosion. If a repeat sling is considered, it is necessary to verify the degree of intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) and assess for persistent or recurrent proximal urethral mobility. Because of diminished urethral compliance that results from prior AUS or male sling surgery, implantation of an AUS remains the treatment of choice for persistent SUI, as it is the most reliable method of providing the circumferential urethral compression necessary for adequate coaptation even in the setting of urethral fibrosis.     

Urinary Incontinence and Retention in the Female Neobladder Why Does This Occur and Treatment Options?

A rising number of female patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder are treated with orthotopic bladder replacement using an ileal neobladder. This method has two major drawbacks that may occur post-operatively, i.e., incontinence or increased residual urine up to urinary retention. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the pathophysiology and possible treatment options. The treatment options of urinary incontinence in general are different kinds of tension-free tapes and the artificial sphincter; however, possibilities to treat chronic retention are very limited and can be reduced by modifications during the surgical procedure itself by creation of a low-pressure neobladder.     

Using the Apple Watch to Record Multiple-Lead Electrocardiograms in Detecting Myocardial Infarction: Where Are We Now?

Although the outcome after myocardial infarction depends on the time to treatment, a delay between symptom onset and treatment is common. Apple Watch, a popular wearable device, provides the ability to perform an electrocardiogram. We review the progress made in using the Apple Watch to record multiple electrocardiogram leads for diagnosing myocardial infarction. Although the data are encouraging, many limitations remain, and more research is needed. Nevertheless, the Apple Watch could eventually serve as a self-check tool for patients who have chest pains or other symptoms of myocardial infarction, thus substantially decreasing the time to treatment and improving the outcome after myocardial infarction.