Effects of drug cessation after flexible-dose fesoterodine in patients with overactive bladder

On-demand use of fesoterodine: a new paradigm for extended release antimuscarinics

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

We aimed to compare on-demand and continuous use of fesoterodine 4 mg concerning efficacy and adverse effects.

METHODS

A total of 100 patients who were diagnosed with non-neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome were included in the study. All patients were evaluated with MMSE, ICIQ-SF, SEAPI quality of health and OAB-V8 questionnaires, at the beginning, 1st month and 4th month. Fesoterodine 4 mg was started for treatment. At the end of the 1st month, patients who obtained benefit from the treatment were 1:1 randomized into two groups. In group 1, fesoterodine 4 mg was given 1 × 1 in a standard manner whereas in group 2 patients took the pills on demand. Both groups were evaluated for efficacy and adverse events at 4 months.

RESULTS

Final analyses included 69 patients. At 4-month follow-up, OAB-V8 scores were significantly improved compared to 1 month in both groups. Again at h months, no difference was detected between the two groups for MMSE, ICIQ-SF and SEAPI scores. In continuous usage group, 4th month MMSE scores were significantly lower than 1st month scores. At 4 months, dry mouth and constipation were lower in the on-demand group compared to continuous usage group.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to standard continuous usage, on-demand usage of fesoterodine showed similar efficacy with fewer adverse events.

Characterizing the Health-Related Quality of Life Burden of Overactive Bladder Using Disease-Specific Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction

The objective was to identify the most commonly used patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for overactive bladder (OAB), determine which are the most useful for measuring burden in OAB and characterize the findings of recent studies that have employed PRO instruments to assess OAB symptoms and the effects of treatment.

Methods

A systematic search of OAB literature published between January 2006 and November 2017 using Medline/PubMed and EMBASE databases.

Results

Of 3425 abstracts and 500 full-text articles reviewed, 58 studies (both clinical trials and observational studies) were included in the review. The most commonly used PRO instruments were the OAB Questionnaire (OAB-q; 64%), followed by the King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ; 31%) and the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PCBC; 21%). Synthesis of data from studies using the OAB-q showed that OAB treatment with antimuscarinics, mirabegron and onabotulinumtoxinA all improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms beyond the benefits observed with placebo. The OAB-q could detect dose–response relationships in some studies and demonstrated there were no significant differences across therapies from different drug classes.

Conclusion

The HRQoL burden of OAB and response to treatment can be reliably measured by PRO instruments, and the OAB-q is the most commonly used instrument in OAB, particularly in clinical trials of OAB interventions. These data will be useful to provide benchmarks of burden levels for PRO scores obtained among those on contemporary therapies for comparison with outcomes from patients managed with emerging treatments.

Funding

Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s12325-019-0880-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

How long do we have to treat overactive bladder syndrome (OAB)? A questionnaire survey of Canadian urologists and gynecologists

INTRODUCTION

Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is a highly prevalent and costly condition worldwide with negative impact on health-related quality of life. Although many guidelines exist and anticholinergics are considered to be the mainstay of pharmacological treatment, data are lacking regarding optimal treatment duration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine practice patterns of Canadian urologists and gynecologists regarding duration of OAB pharmacotherapy.

METHODS

A 14-question survey was designed and survey links (English and French) were sent by email to all practicing urologists and gynecologists registered with the Canadian Urological Association and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada via the associations' email lists. The SurveyMonkey website served as platform where responses were collected and stored.

RESULTS

A total of 301 physicians completed the questionnaire; 250 respondents (83%) prescribe anticholinergics or beta-3-adrenoceptor agonist (mirabegron) in their practice, and 202 (81%) start patient treatment with the lowest recommended medication dose. One hundred and twelve respondents (45% of those who prescribe OAB medications) classified OAB pharmacotherapy as a lifelong management strategy, whereas 130 (52% of those who prescribe OAB medications) think that OAB pharmacotherapy should be administered for a defined time period. Six-month and one-year time periods of drug treatments are the most commonly chosen answers given by physicians who treat their patients for a defined duration.

CONCLUSION

There is general agreement among Canadian urologists and gynecologists that OAB treatment should be started with the lowest recommended medication dose. A slim majority of respondents think that OAB pharmacotherapy should be administered for a defined duration.

Personal goals and expectations of OAB patients in the UK

INTRODUCTION

In clinical practice and in research patient-centred outcomes are often utilised to help improve communication between patients and clinicians and to help manage expectations from treatment. However, many of these goals are generic and do not adequately capture the details of day to day life that bother patients the most and that they hope will improve with therapy. This study aimed to understand what are the goals of patients with overactive bladder symptoms in the UK who were taking part in a clinical trial and to assess goal achievement.

METHODS

This was a qualitative analysis of the patients goals recorded using the Self-Assessment Goal Achievement (SAGA) Questionnaire during the UK study assessing flexible dose fesoterodine in adults (SAFINA) trial. Free text patient goals were completed at baseline and an assessment of achievement was performed at the end of treatment. Grounded theory was used to develop themes and sub themes.

RESULTS

Three hundred and thirty-one patients completed the trial and 1137 open ended goals were set. Six themes emerged from the data including, OAB, other LUTS and finishing the task in hand with multiple subthemes noted.

CONCLUSIONS

By assessing and understanding what is important to the patient, it may help to tailor patient care and treatment and improve patient satisfaction.

Fesoterodine clinical efficacy and safety for the treatment of overactive bladder in relation to patient profiles: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To summarize published evidence on the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of fesoterodine for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms in relation to patient clinical and demographic profiles.

METHODS

A systematic review of published articles on fesoterodine was conducted via a PubMed search. Articles were identified using the search term fesoterodine, with limits of human species and abstract available. Review and meta-analysis articles, validation studies, articles focused on treatment compliance/adherence, meeting abstracts, and articles not focused on oral fesoterodine administration in human subjects were excluded. Data from retained articles were summarized descriptively.

RESULTS

Of 137 articles identified, 61 (15 articles on the pharmacology and 46 articles on the efficacy and/or safety of fesoterodine) met inclusion criteria. Superiority trials demonstrated the additional efficacy of fesoterodine 8 mg versus fesoterodine 4 mg and tolterodine extended release 4 mg in treating OAB. Prospective trials in specific patient populations indicated beneficial effects of fesoterodine in elderly patients, vulnerable elderly patients, patients dissatisfied with or with a suboptimal response to previous antimuscarinic therapy, patients with urge urinary incontinence (UUI) or nocturnal urgency, and men with persistent LUTS during alpha-blocker treatment. With two effective doses, the fesoterodine dose can be adjusted to achieve optimal efficacy and tolerability in individual patients. The most common adverse events during fesoterodine treatment are dry mouth and constipation.

CONCLUSIONS

Extensive evidence demonstrates the efficacy and safety of fesoterodine in relieving OAB symptoms, including urgency, urinary frequency, UUI, and nocturnal urgency, in patients with various clinical and demographic profiles. Trial results provide valuable information on fesoterodine treatment in specific patient populations, including both elderly and vulnerable elderly patients. Potential limitations of this review are that only English language articles in PubMed were searched and included.

Flexible dosing with fesoterodine 4 and 8 mg: a systematic review of data from clinical trials

AIMS

To systematically review dose-escalation data from flexible-dose studies of fesoterodine and summarise factors associated with dose-escalation decisions.

METHODS

A PubMed search was conducted using the terms (fesoterodine AND flexible dose), with no limits. Articles were included if they contained fesoterodine dose-escalation data for efficacy or safety outcomes or factors associated with dose-escalation decisions.

RESULTS

Of 13 articles identified by the search, 10 articles (six clinical studies) met inclusion criteria. In flexible-dose trials of fesoterodine, 51-63% of subjects initially receiving fesoterodine 4 mg opted for dose escalation to fesoterodine 8 mg. Escalators generally reported significantly more severe overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms, greater OAB symptom bother and worse health-related quality of life at baseline than non-escalators. Escalators demonstrated less treatment benefit with fesoterodine 4 mg than non-escalators. Non-escalators generally had a higher rate of dry mouth and constipation with fesoterodine 4 mg than escalators. The decision to escalate appeared to be determined by the efficacy/tolerability responses; fesoterodine escalators demonstrated a lower sensitivity (less efficacy and fewer adverse events) before their decision to escalate. By study end (8-11 weeks after escalation decision), the efficacy and tolerability profiles were similar in escalators and non-escalators.

CONCLUSIONS

Data from flexible-dose studies provide strong evidence that fesoterodine provides treatment benefit to individual subjects with OAB because of its true dose-response effect. In clinical practice, it can be worthwhile to escalate to fesoterodine 8 mg in individual subjects who require additional efficacy benefit.

Factors associated with dose escalation of fesoterodine for treatment of overactive bladder in people >65 years of age: A post hoc analysis of data from the SOFIA study

AIM

To investigate factors which may influence dose escalation of antimuscarinics for overactive bladder (OAB) in older patients and how dose escalation affects treatment efficacy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A post hoc analysis of data from the 12-week randomized, placebo controlled phase of the SOFIA study investigating treatment with fesoterodine in older people with OAB. Predictors and outcomes in patients aged ≥65 years with OAB who did or did not choose to escalate from fesoterodine 4 to 8 mg before the first dose-escalation choice point (week 4) and at the end of the study (week 12) were assessed.

RESULTS

Variables which significantly increased likelihood of dose escalation were, at baseline, body mass index (OR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.01, 1.12; P = 0.0222), and male gender (OR: 2.06, 95% CI 1.28, 3.32; P = 0.0028) and at week 4, change from baseline in urgency episodes (OR: 1.12, 95% CI 1.05, 1.20; P = 0.0008), patient perception of bladder control (PPBC) (OR: 1.44, 95% CI 1.12, 1.84; P = 0.004). At week 12, dose escalation was associated with slightly reduced treatment outcomes compared to week 4 non-escalators.

CONCLUSIONS

No baseline disease related factor associated with dose escalation was identified. Magnitude of change in urgency episodes and reduction in PPBC at 4 weeks were associated with dose escalation. These data may be of use to healthcare providers as they allow judgement to be made in individual patients, allowing treatment decisions to be made. At end of treatment, improvements in efficacy and quality of life were achieved in both escalators and non-escalators.