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Does Bladder Training Improve the Efficacy of Nerve Stimulation in Women With Refractory Overactive Bladders

Does Bladder Training (BT) Improve the Efficacy of Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) in Women With Refractory Overactive Bladder (OAB) - A Randomised Controlled Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02107820
Enrollment
84
Registered
2014-04-08
Start date
2014-07-24
Completion date
2019-03-25
Last updated
2019-09-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Overactive Bladder

Keywords

Bladder training, Percutaneous Tibial nerve stimulation, Overactive bladder, Randomised controlled study

Brief summary

Overactive Bladder (OAB) is a chronic condition defined as urgency with or without incontinence usually associated with frequency and nocturia. It is a common condition affecting 15-45% of adults and constitutes a significant proportion of patients attending urogynaecology clinics. OAB is known to have a significant impact on the physical, social and emotional quality of life and sexual function in women. The treatment of OAB is initially conservative with bladder training followed by pharmacotherapy. Evidence from a recent Cochrane review on treatment of OAB suggests that the efficacy of anticholinergics in treatment of OAB is enhanced when combined with BT. Women who fail to improve with these initial measures are offered Intravesical Botox or neuromodulation in the form of Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) or Sacral Nerve Stimulation (SNS). PTNS has also been shown to more effective than pharmacotherapy with anticholinergics. In 2010 National Institute of Clinical Excellences (NICE) issued guidance stating 'PTNS for OAB demonstrates effectiveness without major safety concerns We hypothesise that the outcome of PTNS will improve if the PTNS sessions are combined with bladder training (BT).

Interventions

All patients randomised to PTNS + BT group will have BT with the nurse for 20 minutes during PTNS sessions (which last 30 minutes). Since BT is recommended by NICE for a duration of 6 weeks. BT will be discussed for the first 6 sessions of the 12 week PTNS treatment cycle.

A needle electrode insertion site is located on the inner aspect of either leg approximately three fingerbreadths (5 cm or 2) cephalad to the medial malleolus and approximately one fingerbreadth (2 cm or ¾) posterior to the tibia. The needle electrode head is gently tapped to pierce the skin, maintaining a 60° angle, and insert to a depth of approximately 2cm. The electrode is then connected to the stimulator and the current setting needed is determined by the test mode on the stimulator. Once the current setting is known, the stimulator is started on the therapy mode which delivers the current for 30 minutes and shuts off automatically after 30 minutes. The needle is then removed and stimulator disconnected. The treatment involves twelve weekly sessions of 30 minutes each.

Sponsors

University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* All women with refractory OAB who are offered PTNS as a treatment option

Exclusion criteria

* Who cannot give informed consent. * Women in whom PTNS is contraindicated. This includes women who have: Gross leg oedema A pacemaker

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Primary outcome will reduction in number of urgency episodes (bladder diary)3 monthsAll patients complete a bladder diary (A record of fluid intake, voided volumes, urgency and incontinence episodes for 3 days) prior to commencement and at 3 months.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
reduction in frequency24 monthsBladder diary and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - OverActive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB) questionnaire
urgency incontinence episodes24 monthsICIQ-OAB questionnaire
increase in mean void volume3 monthsBladder diary
improvement in quality of life and urgency scores24 monthsICIQ-OAB questionnaire

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient 4 point likert scale 0-3 (0 no effect, 1 better, 2 much better, 3 cured)24 monthsPatients are asked about the subjective effect of the treatment on a 4 point likert scale 0-3 (0 no effect, 1 better, 2 much better, 3 cured) during the treatment cycle
Patient global impression of improvement (PGII) (5 point likert scale)24 months

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026