title: Pelvic floor muscle training for female stress urinary incontinence: Five years outcomes.
abstract: To evaluate the clinical status, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and quality of life (QOL) 5 years after completion of a pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) program for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
  
  
  
  Two hundred and eight consecutive women who underwent a guided PFMT program as first-line management of SUI were invited to participate in a questionnaire-based outcome study 5 years after treatment. Primary outcome measures comprised of adherence to PFMT, interim surgery for SUI, and patients' self-assessment of LUTS and QOL.
  
  
  
  One hundred and thirty-two (63%) women completed all questionnaires, 55 of whom (41.7%, mean age 52.1 ± 10.8) reported adherence to PFMT, 75 (56.8%, mean age 49.8 ± 10.8) discontinued training, and two (1.5%) underwent surgery. Further analysis of the 76 non-responders revealed six more patients who underwent surgery. Thus, overall, eight patients (3.8% of the original cohort) underwent surgery within 5 years after completion of the training program. Except for those who underwent surgery, almost all women reported SUI, however their ICIQ-UI scores for frequency and amount of leakage were low (2.2 ± 0.9, 1.18 ± 1.04, respectively) and I-QOL score was high (96.2 ± 13.6). All investigated parameters and domains, in each of the three questionnaires and among all women, consistently demonstrated low severity of LUTS and relatively high continence-associated QOL. There were no statistically significant differences in favor of adherence to PFMT.
  
  
  
  Although relatively high rates of 5-year adherence to training were demonstrated among our patients, this adherence was not associated with superior treatment outcomes. Further studies are needed to establish the long-term efficacy of PFMT for SUI. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:132-135, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Physical Therapy Department, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Netta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beyar
authors.affiliation: Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Unit, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Asnat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groutz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D017773:Pelvic Floor; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: outcome assessment; pelvic floor muscle training; stress urinary incontinence