Karyn S. Eilber, MD, on patient counseling for onabotA treatment for OAB

The use of onabotulinumtoxinA (onabotA, Botox) for the treatment of overactive bladder comes with several important considerations, including a thorough discussion of the treatment with patients.

“Most people are not aware that Botox [for OAB exists], and most people are not aware that there is also neuromodulation, so I think it's very important to bring those up, just to put them in their awareness, so they can do their own research, even after the visit is complete,” said Karyn S. Eilber, MD, in an interview with Urology Times®.

“When I introduce it, the good thing about Botox is there are not a lot of treatments where you can try it out, if you will. I tell people, even if you have every possible complication, you know those are going to go away, because Botox isn't permanent. Let’s say you are that person who has retention, or you just don't like that your stream is slow. You know that's eventually going to wear away, because Botox cannot last forever, and I think that does make patients a little more receptive to it, knowing that if they have retention, it's not going to be forever, or even if you have to catheterize, it’s also not even for the full 6 months that the Botox will last for most people,” said Eilber, chair of Cedars-Sinai Medical Group department of surgery and professor of urology, and associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

EP: 1.Optimizing onabotA for OAB: What are some common misconceptions?

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EP: 2.Karyn S. Eilber, MD, on patient counseling for onabotA treatment for OAB

In the interview, Eilber also discussed antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing onabotA treatment.

“I give 1 preventive dose, just like we do when patients have surgery. We keep in our office a quinolone or a cephalosporin for people who are allergic to one or the other, and they just get 1 preventive dose when they check in. Ideally, by the time they're prepared—meaning they're undressed, they have a lidocaine put in their bladder—it's been a good 30 to 45 minutes for the antibiotic to start to circulate, and it seems to work pretty well,” Eilber said.