Therapeutic efficacy of clenbuterol for urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy.
BACKGROUND
Urinary incontinence is one of the most common complications occurring after radical prostatectomy. We evaluated the efficacy of clenbuterol, a selective beta 2-adrenoceptor agonist, in the treatment of incontinence occurring after radical prostatectomy, using urodynamic assessment.


METHODS
Fourteen men (mean age, 68 years) with post-radical-prostatectomy incontinence were treated with 20 mg of clenbuterol twice a day for 1 month. The urodynamic assessment was performed on all patients before and after the administration of clenbuterol. A pad scoring system was used to gauge the severity of incontinence before and after treatment.


RESULTS
At 1 month after administration of clenbuterol, 9 of the 14 patients (64%) had dramatic improvement in pad scores. Treatment failed in 5 patients (36%) with severe incontinence. The results of urodynamic studies showed that the mean functional urethral length of the patients with post-radical-prostatectomy incontinence increased significantly after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that clenbuterol can be used as an effective agent for treating mild-to-moderate stress incontinence after radical prostatectomy.
Noguchi
M
M
Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
Eguchi
Y
Y
Ichiki
J
J
Yahara
J
J
Noda
S
S
D000368:Aged; D002976:Clenbuterol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014521:Urethra / Q000503:physiopathology; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D014563:Urodynamics / Q000187:drug effects*
D002976:Clenbuterol