Acupuncture for overactive bladder: a randomized controlled trial

Item

Title

Acupuncture for overactive bladder: a randomized controlled trial

Author(s)

Journal Publication

Date

2005

volume

106(1)

pages

138-143

Research Type

RCT

Keywords

Abstract

Objective: To compare acupuncture treatment for overactive bladder with urge incontinence with a placebo acupuncture treatment. Methods: Eighty-five women enrolled in this randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Women were randomly assigned to either receive an acupuncture treatment expected to improve their bladder symptoms, or a placebo acupuncture treatment designed to promote relaxation. They underwent cystometric testing, completed a 3-day voiding diary, and completed the urinary distress inventory and incontinence impact questionnaire, validated quality-of-life inventories, before and after 4 weekly acupuncture treatments. The primary endpoint was number of incontinent episodes over 3 days. Secondary endpoints included voiding frequency and urgency, cystometric bladder capacity, maximum voided volume, and the urinary distress inventory and incontinence impact questionnaire symptom scores. Results: Seventy-four women completed all aspects of the study. Women in both treatment and placebo groups had significant decreases in number of incontinent episodes (59% for treatment, 40% for placebo) without a significant difference in the change between the groups. Women in the treatment group had a 14% reduction in urinary frequency (P = .013), a 30% reduction in the proportion of voids associated with urgency (P = .016), and a 13% increase in both maximum voided volume and maximum cystometric capacity (P = .01). Both groups also had an improvement in the urinary distress inventory and incontinence impact questionnaire scores (54% decrease for treatment, 30% decrease for placebo, P < .001 for the difference in change between the groups). Conclusion: Women who received 4 weekly bladder-specific acupuncture treatments had significant improvements in bladder capacity, urgency, frequency, and quality-of-life scores as compared with women who received placebo acupuncture treatments. Level of Evidence: I

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has health condition studied

Urologic Diseases

plan

1/WK

has study population number

74

has duration

4 Weeks

Item sets