Overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome affects 10-15% of women, severely impacting their quality of life. First-line treatments include behavioural and physical therapy, and second-line medical treatments include medications such as vaginal oestrogen, anticholinergic medications, and ß3-adrenergic agonists-with potential adverse side effects including dizziness, constipation, and delirium, particularly affecting elderly populations. Third-line treatments include more invasive measures, including intradetrusor botulinum injections or sacral nerve modulation, with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) being a potential alternative treatment.
The aim of this study was to explore the long-term efficacy of PTNS treatment for OAB in an Australian cohort.
This is a prospective cohort study. Patients underwent Phase 1 treatment, whereby women received PTNS treatment once per week for 12 weeks. Following Phase 1, women entered Phase 2, whereby they received 12 PTNS treatments over 6 months. Their response to treatment was measured by obtaining data before and after each phase using ICIQ-OAB and the Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire (APFQ).
Phase 1 included 166 women, with 51 completing Phase 2. There was a statistically significant reduction in urinary urgency (29.8%), nocturia (29.8%), incontinence (31.0%), and frequency (33.8%) compared to the baseline. Patients who completed Phase 2 also showed a statistically significant reduction in urinary frequency (56.5%).
Overall, the results from this study are positive and support that PTNS is a minimally invasive, non-surgical, non-hormonal, and effective treatment for OAB. These results suggest that PTNS may be a second-line treatment for patients with OAB not responding to conservative management or for patients aiming to avoid surgical approaches.
Journal of clinical medicine. 2023 May 16*** epublish ***
Connor McPhail, Robert Carey, Sidharth Nambiar, Nadia Willison, Saghi Bahadori, Pouria Aryan, Tran Nguyen, Fariba Behnia-Willison
FBW Gynaecology Plus, Adelaide 5035, Australia., Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park 5042, Australia., Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia., Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.