Combination treatment effectively treats overactive bladder symptoms in men

Combination therapy with extended-release tolterodine tartrate (Detrol LA) and doxazosin mesylate (Cardura) is twice as effective as doxazosin alone in relieving overactive bladder symptoms in men with both bladder obstruction and overactive bladder symptoms, according to a recent study in the British Journal of Urology (2004; 94:817-20).

The study followed 76 men with bladder outlet obstruction and 68 men with bladder outlet obstruction and overactive bladder. After 3 months of treatment with doxazosin alone, one-third of the men with both bladder outlet obstruction and overactive bladder had improvements. After 3 months of the combination therapy, about 73% of men with both conditions saw improvement.

The opposite results occurred in men with bladder outlet obstruction alone. After 3 months of treatment with doxazosin, about three-fourths of men with bladder outlet obstruction alone saw improvement, while one-third of men with bladder outlet obstruction and overactive bladder noticed an improvement.

"These findings suggest that combination therapy is well tolerated and can be considered for men with or without bladder obstruction," said study author Michael Chancellor, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh.