Observed patient compliance with a structured outpatient bladder retraining program.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to determine patient compliance with a telephone-based retraining program.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study of 123 women with urinary urgency or urge incontinence who were offered bladder retraining with facsimile machine submission of a retraining diary and weekly telephone feedback.


RESULTS
Completion was defined as having >/=4 follow-up sessions and >/=6 weeks of retraining. Seventy-one percent (87/123) began the retraining program; 63% (55/87) of them completed it, for an overall compliance rate of 45% (55/123). When we compared those who completed retraining with those who started but did not complete it, only concurrent use of pharmacologic therapy was significantly different (87% vs 53%, respectively; P <.001). This difference remained significant after we controlled for other independent variables, including urodynamic diagnosis and physician.


CONCLUSIONS
A total of 55% of women to whom telephone-based bladder retraining was recommended either never started or were noncompliant with the treatment. Bladder retraining success in the "real world" may be substantially lower than that described in well-funded labor-intensive clinical trials.
Visco
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AG
Division of Gynecologic Specialties, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. visco001@mc.duke.edu
Weidner
A C
AC
Cundiff
G W
GW
Bump
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RC
D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013689:Telephone; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000628:therapy*; D014563:Urodynamics
D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic