Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation beneficial for overactive bladder

For women with overactive bladder (OAB), percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is associated with improvement of symptoms, according to a study published online May 16 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Connor McPhail, from FBW Gynaecology Plus in Adelaide, Australia, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the long-term efficacy of PTNS treatment for OAB. Women with OAB received PTNS once per week for 12 weeks in phase 1 and then received 12 PTNS treatments over six months in phase 2. A total of 166 women were included in phase 1 and 51 completed phase 2.

The researchers found that compared to baseline, there was a significant reduction in urinary urgency, nocturia, incontinence, and frequency (improvements of 29.8, 29.8, 31.0, and 33.8 percent, respectively). A significant reduction in urinary frequency (improvement of 56.5 percent) was also seen for patients who completed phase 2.

"This study should promote future investigation into the long-term maintenance of the therapeutic benefit of PTNS in the Australian setting, particularly looking at patient demographics to find out who experienced symptomatic improvements, and possibly a comparative study between the benefits and cost of PTNS and surgical treatments, such as intradetrusor injections," the authors write.