Efficacy of Percutaneous vs Transcutaneous Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation in Overactive Bladder Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a symptom syndrome consisting of urgency, frequency, and nocturia. It is a common urologic disorder. Percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is a minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and effective treatment of OAB. Recently, transcutaneous PTN stimulation (TTNS) with surface electrodes has been used, which is non-invasive. This study examines and compares the efficacy of these two therapy methods.

METHODS

In this randomized clinical trial, 44 patients with OAB were randomly assigned to PTNS and TTNS groups. In both groups, the therapeutic interventions were performed thrice a week for four weeks, 12 sessions. Incontinence quality of life questionnaire (I-QOL) and OAB symptom score (OABSS) were evaluated before the intervention, then one week and four weeks after completing the sessions.

RESULTS

Of 44 patients (41 females and 3 males), the mean age of the subjects was 51.95 years in the PTNS group and 56.86 years in the TTNS group (P=0.9). In our study, the patients' urinary symptoms and QOL improved in both groups over time. Both interventions had no significant difference (P=0.796, P=0.372, respectively).

CONCLUSION

PTNS and TTNS effectively improved patients' symptoms of OAB and their QOL. TTNS can be considered as effective as conventional PTNS and a less invasive alternative for PTNS in OAB treatment.