Combined low-dose antimuscarinics for refractory detrusor overactivity in children.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Behavioral therapy and bowel management are the initial and mainstay treatments for overactive bladder (OAB). Antimuscarinic agents are initiated if these measures fail or symptoms are severe. This study reported the results of treatment with a high dosage of a single drug in children with refractory detrusor overactivity (DO). After the children maintained their previous antimuscarinic medication, a second antimuscarinic drug (trospium chloride) was added as a combination therapy. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Seventy-two children with DO were enrolled in this prospective study (Figure). They had persistent urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), even with behavioral bowel therapy, and used an optimized dosage of oxybutynine. All patients demonstrated DO at urodynamic study and started on oxybutynin and trospium chloride at the lowest weight-adjusted dose (10-20 mg/day for trospium chloride). A bladder diary was recorded for 3 days, and urodynamic studies were repeated at 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Sixteen children (22.2%) became dry. Thirty-three children (45.8%) attained a significant decrease in incontinence from an average of 5 to 1.3 episodes per day. A statistically significant increase of mean cystometeric bladder capacity (P = 0.006) was also observed at the 6-month follow-up. The overall success rate was 68%, since 23 children (32%) discontinued combined treatment due to persistent symptoms and/or intolerable side effects. A total of 41 children (57%) reported no side effects, 25 (34.7%) reported mild side effects, six (8.3%) reported moderate side effects, and two withdrew from the study due to their side effects. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of low-dose trospium chloride to oxybutynine seemed to be an effective and safe treatment approach for children with DO who were refractory to high-dosage monotherapy. Different combinations with different antimuscarinics drugs could be evaluated in the future.

Management of detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia in neurogenic bladder.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects 11.5 to 53.4 individuals per million of the population in developed countries each year. SCI is caused by trauma, although it can also result from myelopathy, myelitis, vascular disease or arteriovenous malformations and multiple sclerosis. Patients with complete lesions of the spinal cord between spinal cord level T6 and S2, after they recover from spinal shock, generally exhibit involuntary bladder contractions without sensation, smooth sphincter synergy, but with detrusor striated sphincter dyssynergia (DESD). Those with lesions above spinal cord level T6 may experience, in addition, smooth sphincter dyssynergia and autonomic hyperreflexia. DESD is a debilitating problem in patients with SCI. It carries a high risk of complications, and even life expectancy can be affected. Nearly half of the patients with untreated DESD will develop deleterious urologic complications, due to high intravesical pressures, resulting in urolithiasis, urinary tract infection (UTI), vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), hydronephrosis, obstructive uropathy, and renal failure. The mainstay of treatment is the use of antimuscarinics and catheterization, but in those for whom this is not possible external sphincterotomy has been a last resort option. External sphincterotomy is associated with significant risks, including haemorrhage; erectile dysfunction and the possibility of redo procedures. Over the last decade alternatives have been investigated, such as urethral stents and intrasphincteric botulinum toxin injection. In this review, we will cover neurogenic DESD, with emphasis on definition, classifications, diagnosis and different therapeutic options available.