Electrical stimulation compared with tolterodine for treatment of urge/urge incontinence amongst women--a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
Few randomized controlled trials have compared electrical stimulation treatment with drug therapy. Our hypothesis was that electrical stimulation treatment in women with urgency/urge incontinence would be more efficient compared to drug treatment.


METHODS
Women ≥18 years of age with urgency/urge incontinence were randomized to receive either ten electrical stimulation treatments vaginally and transanally over a period of 5-7 weeks or tolterodine 4 mg orally once daily.


RESULTS
Sixty-one women completed the study. There was no significant difference between the two treatment groups in micturition rate from baseline to 6 months, mean difference, -0.40 (95% confidence interval (CI), -1.61 to 0.82), but a clearly significant difference within each group for electrical stimulation, -2.8 (95% CI, -3.7 to -1.9), and for tolterodine, -3.2 (95% CI, -4.1 to -2.4).


CONCLUSIONS
Both treatments reduced the number of micturitions, but electrical stimulation was not found to be superior to tolterodine.
Franzén
Karin
K
School of Health and Medical Sciences, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden.
Johansson
Jan-Erik
JE
Lauridsen
Inger
I
Canelid
Jill
J
Heiwall
Bengt
B
Nilsson
Kerstin
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003408:Cresols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011788:Quality of Life; D000068737:Tolterodine Tartrate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D053202:Urinary Incontinence, Urge / Q000628:therapy*
D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D003408:Cresols; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine; D000068737:Tolterodine Tartrate