Electroacupuncture for postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence: secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture was compared to those of sham electroacupuncture for the treatment of postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

METHODS:

This study was a secondary analysis of a multicenter, randomized controlled trial that recruited 504 women with SUI and randomized 349 postmenopausal women to receive 18 treatment sessions of electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture over 6 weeks, with a 24-week follow-up assessment. Treatment response was defined as a 50% or greater reduction in urine leakage, as measured by a 1-h pad test at week 6.

RESULTS:

Of the 349 randomized women, 332 completed the study. The response rate was 61.0% in the electroacupuncture group compared to 18.9% in the sham electroacupuncture group (difference 42.5%; 95% confidence interval, 33.3-51.7; p < 0.001). After 6 weeks of treatment, the mean 72-h urinary incontinence episode frequency, proportion of participants with at least a 50% decrease in mean 72-h incontinence episode frequency, participant-reported SUI severity, International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form scores, and participants' self-evaluation of therapeutic effects improved in both groups, with significant between-group differences. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 2.1% of women during the 6-week treatment.

CONCLUSION:

Electroacupuncture may effectively and safely relieve urinary incontinence symptoms and improve quality of life in postmenopausal women with SUI.

• Authors: Weiming Wang, Yan Liu, Shaoxin Sun, Baoyan Liu, Tongsheng Su, Jing Zhou, Zhishun Liu
• Journal: World journal of urology (World J Urol) Vol. 37 Issue 7 Pg. 1421-1427 (Jul 2019) ISSN: 1433-8726 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 30317381 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Topics

• Aged
• Electroacupuncture (methods)
• Female
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Postmenopause
• Quality of Life
• Treatment Outcome
• Urinary Incontinence, Stress (therapy)