title: Individually tailored ultrasound-assisted prompted voiding for institutionalized older adults with urinary incontinence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess individually tailored ultrasound-assisted prompted voiding as a means of managing urinary incontinence in hospitalized elderly patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 88 incontinent elderly individuals who were inpatients in general hospitals were included. Each individual's mean bladder volume before starting to void (voided urine volume plus residual urine volume) was regarded as the optimal bladder volume. Bladder volume was regularly monitored with an ultrasound device, and when the urine volume had reached the individual's optimal bladder volume, the subject was prompted to void. The outcomes were evaluated on the basis of scores on a four-grade scale for items in six domains: urine volume, voiding function, urinary control, physical and cognitive function for toileting, and caregivers' burden in regard to continence care. The score for use of a pad/diaper, an item of urinary control domain, was used as the primary outcome measure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 80 participants were included for analysis. After ultrasound-assisted prompted voiding care for a 4-week period, the score for use of a pad/diaper in 50 out of 80 participants (62.5%) had decreased, and 21 out of 80 participants (26.3%) no longer required the use of a pad/diaper at all. The scores of the other 30 out of 80 participants (37.5%) were unchanged. The improvement was not significantly affected by patients' backgrounds at baseline. The mean scores in the domains of urinary control, physical function, cognitive function and caregivers' burden improved significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present preliminary study suggests that individually tailored ultrasound-assisted prompted voiding can improved urinary incontinence of institutionalized elderly patients. Further studies are worth carrying out.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Urinary Care, Kitakyushu Koga Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iwatsubo
authors.forename: Motofumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igawa
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: cognitive impairment; continence aids; dependent elderly; urinary incontinence; voiding function