Bladder sensory desensitization decreases urinary urgency
2007

Bladder Sensory Desensitization and Urinary Urgency

Sample size: 23 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Silva Carlos, Silva João, Castro Helder, Reis Frederico, Dinis Paulo, Avelino António, Cruz Francisco

Primary Institution: Hospital S. João and Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Hypothesis

Can bladder desensitization reduce urinary urgency in patients with overactive bladder?

Conclusion

Bladder desensitization may be a useful alternative treatment for patients with urinary urgency, especially those who do not respond to standard management.

Supporting Evidence

  • The mean number of urgency episodes decreased from 71 to 39 after treatment with RTX.
  • 69% of patients reported subjective improvement after RTX treatment.
  • Only 17% of patients felt improved enough to repeat the vehicle treatment.

Takeaway

This study found that a special treatment can help people who really need to go to the bathroom a lot feel better and go less often.

Methodology

Patients underwent a 30-day run-in period without bladder-affecting medications, followed by instillations of a vehicle solution and then resiniferatoxin, with voiding charts collected at various intervals.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to the lack of a control group receiving a placebo treatment.

Limitations

The study was exploratory and not designed as a randomized controlled trial, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Participant Demographics

23 patients (7 males and 16 females) with a mean age of 50 years, range 21–77; 6 had a neurogenic cause for OAB symptoms.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.002

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2490-7-9

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