What are the causes and consequences of bladder overdistension? ICI-RS 2011.

AIMS: To report the outcome of the think tank on prolonged bladder overdistension from the 3rd ICI-RS meeting. METHODS: Prolonged bladder overdistension was discussed after acute urinary retention, its terminology, its prevalence, pathophysiology, and consequences, as well as prophylactic and therapeutic aspects. RESULTS: Acute prolonged bladder overdistension (ApBO) is a consequence of undetected or inadequately treated acute retention, and is mostly due to regional anesthesia, prolonged childbirth, or extensive surgery. Currently, there is no agreed terminology. A primary, temporary neurogenic detrusor dysfunction causing retention is associated with decreased or absent bladder sensation therefore patients do not complain, and management is delayed. Therapeutically, the first intervention is to drain the bladder. Recovery depends on whether reversible or irreversible damage has occurred. There are no good data to support the use of drugs or sacral neuromodulation. Intravesical electrostimulation is the only treatment that has specifically addressed this problem with encouraging results. There are no recent reports on the effect of surgery for myogenic bladder damage. CONCLUSION: ApBO is an important, but often unrecognized medical complication. There is a need for defining the terminology, for studies to record the incidence of different types of bladder overdistension, and to establish management strategies. Apart from clean intermittent self catheterization (CIC) there are no data justifying pharmacological or other therapies. Therefore, prevention is of paramount importance and there is a need to develop and test preventative strategies, which should then be incorporated in surgical registries.

Microbiological tined-lead examination: does prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing induce infection?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether prolonged sacral neuromodulation (SNM) testing induces a substantial risk of infection because of the percutaneous passage of the extension wire. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 20 patients with negative prolonged SNM testing for >or=14 days who underwent tined-lead explantation were prospectively evaluated. The explanted tined leads were sent for microbiological examination. The tined lead, gluteal, and extension wire incision sites were investigated for clinical signs of infection according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification system. RESULTS: In all, 17 patients had bilateral and three unilateral implanted tined leads. The median (range) test period was 30 (21-62 days). Bacterial growth (Staphylococcus species) was detected in four of 20 (20%) patients on seven of 37 (19%) explanted tined leads. There were clinical signs of infection in one of 20 (5%) patients at none of 37 tined lead, one of 20 (5%) gluteal, and none of 20 extension wire incision sites. There were no clinical signs of infection in the remaining three of four patients with bacterial growth. CONCLUSIONS: After prolonged tined-lead testing, we found an infection rate comparable to that reported with the usual short test period. In addition, most patients with bacterial growth on tined leads showed no clinical signs of infection. Thus, prolonged tined-lead testing does not seem to induce clinically relevant infection, warranting randomized trials.

Safety of prolonged sacral neuromodulation tined lead testing.

OBJECTIVE: Prolonged sacral neuromodulation (SNM) testing is more reliable for accurate patient selection than the usual test period of 4-7 days. However, prolonged testing was suspected to result in a higher complication rate due to infection via the percutaneous passage of the extension wire. Therefore, we prospectively assessed the complications associated with prolonged tined lead testing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 44 patients who underwent prolonged tined lead testing for at least 14 days between May 2002 and April 2007 were evaluated. Complications during prolonged tined lead testing, during and after tined lead explantation and during follow-up after implantation of the implantable pulse generator (IPG) were registered prospectively. RESULTS: Four patients suffered from urgency-frequency syndrome, 13 from urge incontinence, 18 from non-obstructive chronic urinary retention and nine from chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The median test phase was 30 days (interquartile range [IQR] 21-36). Thirty-two of the 44 patients (73%) had successful prolonged tined lead testing and 31 of these (97%) underwent the implantation of the IPG. The median follow-up of the IPG implanted patients was 31 months (IQR 20-41). The complication rate was 5% (2/44) during prolonged tined lead testing and 16% (5/31) during follow-up of the IPG implanted patients, respectively. None of the complications could be attributed to prolonged testing. No infections were observed during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective, observational non-randomised study suggests prolonged SNM tined lead testing is a safe procedure. Based on the low complication rate and the increased reliability for accurate patient selection, this method is proposed as a possible standard test procedure, subject to confirmation by further randomised, controlled clinical studies.

Prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing using permanent leads: a more reliable patient selection method?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing using permanent leads comparing the usual evaluation period of 4 to 7 days to a prolonged evaluation period of a minimum of 14 days. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 20 patients (16 females and 4 males) undergoing prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing using permanent leads between September 2000 and March 2004 were evaluated retrospectively. 10 suffered from urgency-frequency syndrome, 3 from urge incontinence and 7 from non-obstructive chronic urinary retention. Key bladder diary variables at baseline, after the usual and prolonged evaluation period and at the last follow-up were compared. RESULTS: The median age was 52 years (interquartile range (IQR) 38-59) and the median evaluation period 28 days (IQR 18-29). 16 of the 20 patients (80%) had successful prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing and underwent the implantation of the IPG that was placed in the anterior abdominal wall in 6 and in the upper buttock in 10 patients. The eligibility for IPG implantation was significantly (p=0.031) increased from 50% after the usual to 80% after the prolonged evaluation period. At a median follow-up of 22 months (IQR 12-34), sacral neuromodulation was successful in 14 (88%) of the 16 IPG implanted patients but failed in 2. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing using permanent leads is more reliable for accurate patient selection than the usual evaluation period. Therefore, this method is strongly recommended and suggested to become the standard test procedure.

Overactive bladder--a practical approach to evaluation and management.

The overactive bladder (OAB) is a highly prevalent condition characterized by the combination of urgency and frequency with or without urge incontinence. The pathophysiology is multifactorial; the background is complicated and not yet fully understood. The basic diagnostic workup comprises symptoms assessment, targeted physical examination, urine analysis, post-void residual urine estimation which mostly allows to make a working diagnosis and to find out which patients can be treated also by the nonspecialist. The bladder diary is an optimal diagnostic instrument with a lot of information, whereas urodynamics are expensive and somewhat unverified in their value. The symptom-focused diagnosis is absolutely sufficient to start nonoperative therapy for OAB symptoms. The OAB presents a treatment challenge, as the management of OAB patients is not standardized. An algorithm should include an initial period of at least 6 weeks of conservative therapy consisting of antimuscarinic drugs in combination with behavioral therapy including pelvic floor exercises. If this combination is not successful, the primary diagnosis should be questioned and additional diagnostic tests may be required. If the therapy is successful after 8 weeks, a continuation should be considered in case the symptoms occur after stopping pharmacological therapy. Further therapy depends on the severity of the initial symptoms, the presence of side effects and the motivation of the patient. If pharmacotherapy is not successful or additional therapy desirable, electrical neuromodulation can be added for another period of 6 weeks for up to 3-6 months considering firstly non-invasive therapeutic modalities before recommending invasive sacral neuromodulation. Neuromodulation should be discussed before more invasive procedures, such as bladder augmentation, are considered. There are potentially promising new therapies on the horizon for the OAB. The use of intravesical agents, which decrease the afferent-sensory input, may herald a new therapeutic paradigm for the treatment of the OAB. Refinements in the techniques and the delivery vehicle for electrical stimulation may offer an even less invasive method of neuromodulation. Finally, ongoing research in biotechnology and tissue engineering may produce a functional, stable, compatible tissue substitute suitable for bladder augmentation. The objectives are (1) to define the overactive bladder, (2) to understand the prevalence of the overactive bladder and its impact on the quality of life, (3) to review the basic evaluation of the patient with symptoms suggestive of the overactive bladder and how to differentiate the overactive bladder from other types of urinary dysfunction, and (4) to understand the rationale for and the approach to therapy for the overactive bladder.