Is it possible to make cross-study comparisons of urinary continence rates in patients with overactive bladder?

ABSTRACT

Several antimuscarinic agents are available for the treatment of overactive bladder but there are few head-to-head studies to guide physicians in choosing one over another. Here we propose ways in which logical adjustments can be made to account for differences in disease severity and placebo effects when considering continence data to allow estimation of relative effectiveness across studies.     

ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT FOR 51 CASES OF INCONTINENCE OF URINE AND STOOL CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE SORROW AND FRIGHT

Incontinenceofurineandstoolisadiseasethatpatientcannotcontrolurinationanddefeca-tionatastateofclearconsciousness.Alotoffactorsofsocialpsychologymaybringaboutthisdisease.51casesofthediseasecausedbyexcessivesorrowandfrightwerestudiedandtreatedwithacupunctur…     

Changes in reciprocal support provision and need-based support from partners of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy

We examined need-related and reciprocal provision of support in couples facing radical prostatectomy and its sequelae, including patients’ urinary incontinence. Partners’ reciprocal support provision to patients was assumed to drop from prior to until after patients’ surgeries and increase again in the following months, while need-related indicators were assumed to remain unique correlates throughout. In this study of German prostatectomy patients and their partners, N = 141 couples provided data on 4 measurement occasions from presurgery to 1-year postsurgery. Need-based predictors of partners’ support provision were patients’ mobilized support, such as efforts to obtain advice or comfort, and degree of postsurgery incontinence. Strength of association between partner-received and provided supports served as an indicator of reciprocal support provision. Data suggested that partners’ reciprocal support provision dropped significantly postsurgery and then increased again in the following months. This was true for emotional as well as instrumental reciprocal support provision. Findings also indicated that one need-based predictor of partners’ support provision, patients’ mobilization of support from their partners, remained a unique correlate of partners’ support provision to patients. Reciprocal support provision in couples may vary during the adaptation to illness-related functional impairment and coexist with need-oriented support provision.     

Arcus to arcus microsling: technique and preliminary results

Sling procedures have been around for decades in the management of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI), but only in the past decade have they become the preferred technique. The arcus to arcus microsling is an anatomical approach that involves placing a midurethral low-tension tape anchored to the obturator internus muscles bilaterally at the level of the tendinous arc. From February 2005 to July 2006, 20 female patients (mean age = 53 years old) with SUI underwent arcus to arcus microsling procedure. Of these, 18 were available for a minimum follow-up of 12 months. After 12 months, 16 (88%) patients were dry, 1 (5.5%) improved, and 1 (5.5%) was incontinent. The arcus to arcus microsling is emerging as a promising option in the management of women with SUI.     

Colposuspension for urinary stress incontinence in postmenopausal patients

Eighty-seven postmenopausal patients had a colposuspension for urinary stress incontinence. A significant postoperative reduction (p<0.001) of symptoms of frequency, nocturia, urgency and urge incontinence was obtained. The cure rate for urinary incontinence was 77%. Twenty patients were found to be wet postoperatively, 8 due to stress incontinence and 12 due to detrusor instability, 9 of whom had detrusor instability preoperatively.No differences were found pre- and postoperatively in the cystometric and uroflowmetric values or in the urethral pressure profile measurements. The pressure transmission ratios were significantly improved postoperatively.During operation and postoperatively, minor complications occurred in this group of patients. In 5 patients blood transfusion was needed. Urinary tract infection was diagnosed in 21 patients, wound infections in 4 patients and enterocele in 5 patients.Colposuspension for urinary stress incontinence in postmenopausal patients is a safe procedure with a reasonable cure rate indicating that a surgical approach should be adopted in such patients.Editorial Comments: This is an extension of the authors' previously published series in SGO [2] now dealing exclusively with postmenopausal patients. Although they state that their overall cure rate was 77%, in fact the cure rate for stress incontinence was 79/87 or 91%. Adding the patients with detrusor instability gives the lower cure rate of 77%. An important contribution of this article is the documentation of a decrease of symptoms of urgency, frequency and urge incontinence subsequent to a modified Burch colposuspension. In addition they document that the pressure-transmission ratios were less than 100% in all of their failed cases. Further studies are needed in the elderly to document success or failure in this group since we will be faced with an ever increasing elderly population in years to come.     

The Ethnic Cultural and Social Aspects of Incontinence – A Pilot Study

This cross-sectional study aimed to study the religious and cultural practices of ethnic minorities that might affect the experience and ideas that sufferers of incontinence have. Subjects were multiparous women from the local community who suffered from incontinence. Structured and unstructured interviews were conducted to assess the effect of incontinence and menstruation on home life, sexual life, personal and communal prayer, rules and customs associated with menstruation, and the ability to discuss problems with their doctor and partners. Individual women differed in how they rated their daily activities, and this was not related to religious or ethnicity. Higher restrictions on activity were perceived for fecal than for urinary incontinence. Sexual relationships were restricted for Jewish and Muslim women during menses. Incontinence led to religious restriction, which was most marked for Jewish and Muslim women, and this was related to the need for cleanliness for prayer. Less then 50% of patients sought help, and this was not related to duration and severity of symptoms. Only Muslim women had a strong preference for female doctors, and this was for cultural reasons.     

The safety of the inside-out transobturator approach for transvaginal tape (TVT-O) treatment in stress urinary incontinence: French registry data on 984 women

This study examines the safety of the inside-out transobturator approach for transvaginal tape (TVT-O™, Gynaecare) treatment in stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women based on a French registry of patients. A total of 984 women from 86 centres were enrolled in the study. Patients with predominant overactive bladder or significant pelvic organ prolapse were excluded from the study. Perioperative and post-operative complications were reported as well as urinary function at 4 and 12 weeks. Pain was assessed by the patients using a visual analog scale (VAS). The overall perioperative complication rate was 2.2%. The most commonly reported morbidities were vaginal wall perforation (1.3%) followed by haematoma (0.7%). Post-operative complication rate was 5.2%; the most common complication was residual pain (2.7%). The other complications of paravesical haematoma, urinary retention, vaginal erosion and re-intervention had an incidence of less than 1.0%. This study demonstrates that the transobturator transvaginal tape approach to the treatment of SUI is a safe procedure.     

Urethral pressure measurement in stress incontinence: does it help?

Introduction and objectives  The resting urethral pressure profile (UPP), used for the assessment of women with stress incontinence, is routine in many urodynamic units. It is time- and effort-consuming, and its diagnostic value is controversial, as well as its value in the prediction of outcome of anti-incontinence surgery. Herein, we assessed its value in the prediction of the outcome of surgery. Patients and methods  Sixty women were randomized to fascial sling or TVT. Urodynamics were performed preoperatively, 6 months and annually thereafter. After filling and voiding cystometry, resting UPP was performed while sitting. Automated catheter pulling, at a rate of 1 mm/s, was adopted. Averaged readings were obtained. Comparison of maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) in success and failure, as well as in sling and TVT, was performed, utilizing ANOVA. Results  Preoperative MUCP and functional urethral length (FUL) were 72.9 ± 27.9 cmH2O and 2.4 ± 0.7 cm. At last follow-up, they were 71.1 ± 20.7 cmH2O and 2.7 ± 0.7 cm, respectively. The differences between sling and TVT as regards value of MUCP and FUL were not significant. The relationship of the outcome of surgery and UPP parameters showed no statistical difference. No significant effect was shown for the success of surgery, duration of follow-up, and interaction of outcome and time over MUCP (P = 0.82, 0.56 and 0.69, respectively) or FUL (P = 0.82, 0.11 and 0.67, respectively). Conclusion  The routine use of resting UPP has no added value in terms of the prediction of success of incontinence surgery. It does not help with follow-up and adds to the time and cost of the examination.