Nerve stimulation device may be alternative to OAB drug therapy

A minimally invasive form of nerve stimulation appears to be an effective alternative to drug therapy in patients with overactive bladder, study results show.

The 12-week, randomized, multicenter study compared anticholinergic drug therapy with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS [Urgent PC System, Uroplasty, Inc., Minnetonka, MN]), an office-based treatment. Study results, which appear in the Journal of Urology (2009; 182:1055-61), include the following:

80% of PTNS patients considered their OAB symptoms cured or improved, while 55% of patients receiving extended-release tolterodine (Detrol LA) considered themselves cured or improved.

Physicians considered 80% of PTNS patients cured or improved, compared with 61% of extended-release tolterodine patients.

The frequency of voiding episodes was reduced in 73% of PTNS patients versus 74% of extended-release tolterodine patients.

80% of PTNS patients had an improvement in urge incontinence compared to 73% of extended-release tolterodine patients.

"PTNS may be considered a clinically significant alternative to pharmacologic therapy for the treatment of OAB with statistically significant improvements in patient self-assessments compared with drugs, and comparable objective effectiveness," said lead author Kenneth M. Peters, MD, of Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. "PTNS represents an important addition to our therapeutic armamentarium."

The research was supported by Uroplasty. Some of the study authors have disclosed financial interest or other relationships with Uroplasty, Medtronic, Allergan, Pfizer, Astellas, Watson, and/or Novartis.