Treatment of stress urinary incontinence using polyacrylamide hydrogel in women after radiotherapy: 1-year follow-up.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Information on urethral bulking therapy in women after previous pelvic radiotherapy is lacking. This study compared the safety and efficacy of polyacrylamide intraurethral injections in patients with and without previous radiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 46 patients with severe stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were enrolled in this multicenter prospective trial. Group A consisted of 24 patients with previous radiotherapy to the pelvis for the treatment of a gynaecological malignancy. Group B consisted of 22 patients without previous radiotherapy. All patients were treated with a transurethral injection of a bulking solution (Bulkamid). The average follow-up was 12.4 months. The paired Wilcoxon test was used to compare the results before and after the procedure within the groups, and the two-sample Wilcoxon test was used for comparisons between groups. RESULTS: Complete continence was achieved in 25 % of patients in group A and in 36.4 % of patients in group B. Significantly reduced urine leakage was observed in both groups (p = 0.0164 in group A and p = 0.0002 in group B). The total scores in the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire decreased by 5.2 in group A (p = 0.0000) and 6.36 in group B (p = 0.0001). The scores for the Total Patient Perception of Bladder Condition decreased by 1.54 in group A (p = 0.0001) and 2.59 in group B (p = 0.0000), with a significant difference between groups (p = 0.0224). No clinically significant changes in urodynamic parameters were observed. No severe adverse events were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, we conclude that urethral bulking therapy is a valuable treatment option in patients with severe SUI who have undergone pelvic radiotherapy for the treatment of gynaecological malignancy.

Prospective randomized comparison of the transobturator mid-urethral sling with the single-incision sling among women with stress urinary incontinence: 1-year follow-up study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The objective was to compare the efficacy and safety of an innovative single-incision sling (SIS) with the inside-out transobturator sling (TOT) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). METHODS: A prospective randomized trial was performed in a tertiary referral urogynecology center from January 2012 to December 2013. The study included women with pure urodynamic SUI. Patients were randomized to either the SIS or the TOT anti-incontinence procedure. Surgery duration, blood loss, and groin pain scores were recorded for each patient. The 1-year follow-up visit included objective and subjective cure parameters, postoperative de novo urgency, complications, and the impact on the patient's life quality. RESULTS: Of 285 patients assessed for eligibility, a total of 93 patients (32.6 %) were randomized into TOT (n = 48) and SIS groups (n = 45). There were no significant differences in either operating time or blood loss. A statistically significant difference between the two groups was found in pain scores three (5.6 ± 1.8 vs 3.1 ± 2.1, p < 0.001) and 12 h postoperatively (3.8 ± 1.7 vs 2.1 ± 1.7, p < 0.001). After 1 year, there were no significant differences between the TOT and SIS groups in objective cure rates (87.0 % vs 90.9 %; p = 0.399) or patient-reported success rates (91.3 % vs 93.2 %; p = 0.999). Incidence of postoperative de novo urgency did not differ between TOT and SIS patients. Both groups registered a significant improvement in quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The Ophira SIS procedure has 1-year success rates comparable to standard TOT with significantly less groin pain in the early postoperative period. Both methods were safe and effective in terms of postoperative urgency and life quality improvement.

Intravesical instillation of onabotulinum toxin A embedded in inert hydrogel in the treatment of idiopathic overactive bladder: A double-blind randomized pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: It was hypothesized that increasing the time for which onabotulinum toxin A (OnabotA) is exposed to the urothelium following intravesical instillation will augment its effect. TC-3 is an inert heat-sensitive hydrogel, which creates an intravesical bulk providing a slow release of the embedded drug after instillation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of OnabotA, embedded in inert TC-3 hydrogel, in patients with idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: In total, 39 female patients (age 30-65, average 53.8 years) with OAB symptoms were randomized for the study into four groups, each receiving 50 ml of the following intravesical instillations: Group A, 0.9% NaCl (placebo, n = 11); Group B, TC-3 gel + 200 U OnabotA (n = 9); Group C, TC-3 gel + 200 U OnabotA + dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (n = 10); and Group D, DMSO (n = 9). The parameters were compared before and 1 month after treatment. RESULTS: When comparing parameters using conventional statistical methods (Kruskal-Wallis test), no statistically significant changes were observed within the groups. Comparison of the medians using an analysis based on the mathematical gnostics showed the superiority of the method used in Group B over the other groups in the following parameters: number of urgency grade 3 + 4 episodes/72 h, number of leakage episodes/72 h, Overactive Bladder Questionnaire total score and Patient Perception of Bladder Condition total score. Group D showed its superiority over the other groups in respect to the number of nocturia episodes/72 h. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that intravesical instillation of OnabotA, embedded in TC-3 gel, could become an alternative to intramural injection for a well-selected subgroup of patients.