Are patients happy with current overactive bladder treatments?

This study looked at the treatments for overactive bladder (OAB) and how satisfied patients were with current options. It found patients had reduced quality of life due to OAB symptoms and that most patients found non-invasive stimulation treatment comfortable and effective. 

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition that causes the bladder to empty frequently and often unexpectedly. It can cause significant distress for patients and reduced quality of life.

OAB is usually treated first with bladder re-training exercises. If this is unsuccessful the next step is medication. However, medications are associated with bothersome side effects. Other treatment options involve various stimulation procedures aimed at controlling the nerve signaling to the bladder.

It is not clear how useful patients find these treatments and whether more treatment options are needed.

40 patients with OAB participated in this study. Patients were asked questions about their symptoms and their response to different treatments. Patients also tried a non-invasive nerve stimulation device and were asked about how it felt.

The most common OAB symptoms reported by patients were urgency (55%), frequency (47.5%), nocturia (urinating during the night; 40%), and incontinence (urine leakage; 30%). 35% of patients had stopped OAB treatments due to side effects or lack of improvement. 

82.5% of patients found the nerve-stimulation device comfortable. 95% of patients said they would try a non-surgical stimulation wearable device.

This study showed that many patients with OAB found available treatments either unacceptable or ineffective and that most patients found a wearable nerve stimulation device comfortable.  

This study involved a small number of patients and did not assess whether the nerve-stimulation device was effective for managing OAB symptoms. This study was funded by Aviation Medical, the company that produces nerve-stimulation devices.