Female underactive bladder - Current status and management

Understanding underactive bladder: a review of the contemporary literature

Underactive bladder (UAB) is characterized by prolonged voiding, hesitancy, and slow and/or intermittent stream with or without a sensation of incomplete bladder emptying. The overlap of UAB lower urinary tract symptoms with those of overactive bladder or bladder outlet obstruction, as well as its multifactorial etiology, make UAB study, as well as its diagnosis and management, a very arduous and challenging task. Therefore, despite its incidence and significant impact in the quality of life of both men and women, UAB remains a poorly understood urologic condition with insufficient and ineffective treatment options available. In this review, we will focus on the etiology theories that have been proposed and the animal models available to test those theories.

Management of Urinary Incontinence With Underactive Bladder: A Review

Urinary incontinence is caused by storage function failure, while underactive bladder (UAB) is caused by a decline in detrusor contractility and voiding dysfunction. As the treatment mechanisms for incontinence and UAB are contrary to each other, it is difficult to treat both incontinence and UAB, and the patient's quality of life can be further degraded. Conventional midurethral sling (MUS), such as transobturator tape or retropubic MUS, introduces a risk of postoperative voiding dysfunction in stress urinary incontinence with UAB. However, there have been several reports about the efficacy and safety of conventional MUS. Adjustable sling procedures, such as transobturator adjustable tape or the Remeex system, have better outcomes than conventional MUS because they control tension both during and after surgery. When voiding dysfunction occurs after incontinence treatment with UAB, voiding symptoms can be improved by various therapeutic modalities. Clean intermittent catheterization is recommended for patients with significant increased postvoid residual volumes or urinary retention. Although pharmacotherapy such as with alpha-blockers or parasympathomimetics can be considered for UAB, there is insufficient evidence of their effect on incontinence with UAB. Future therapies, such as stem cell therapy or gene therapy, may be used to treat incontinence with UAB. The possibility of management urgency urinary incontinence that related to detrusor hyperactivity with impaired contractility using sacral neuromodulation has been suggested. Further research is needed to establish evidence for the efficacy and safety of treatments for incontinence with UAB and improve patient quality of life.