Abstract
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of laser acupuncture for the treatment of women with overactive bladder (OAB) in Taiwan. Methods A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted on female patients with OAB symptoms referred from gynecologists, and subjects were divided into two groups using blocked randomization. LaserPan (RJ-Laser, Germany) was applied to seven selected acupuncture points. The subjects received laser acupuncture 3 times per week for 3 weeks, 9 sessions in total. Basic patient data, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), and Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) scores were recorded prior to first treatment and at the end of 3rd, 6th, and 9th treatments. Results Thirty patients were enrolled, and twenty-seven patients completed all treatments in this study. The OABSS total score of the experimental group decreased significantly by 3.13 (p ≤ 0.001), 4.60 (p ≤ 0.001), and 3.79 (p ≤ 0.001) after 3rd, 6th, and 9th treatments, respectively, compared with that of the control group. The IIQ-7 score declined significantly from baseline by 4.57 (p=0.003) and 3.63 (p=0.023) after 3rd and 6th treatments, respectively, compared with that of the control group. Similarly, the UDI-6 score of the experimental group exhibited a significant decrease from baseline by 1.90 (p=0.042) and 2.25 (p=0.025) after 6th and 9th interventions, respectively, compared with that of the control group. Conclusions This study demonstrates that laser acupuncture can alleviate OAB symptoms and improve quality of life. This noninvasive device could be an effective therapy for women with OAB.
Highlights
According to International Continence Society, the overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome was defined in 2002 as “urgency, with or without urgency incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia,” in the absence of proven infection or other obvious pathology [1]
From early 2019, 40 patients referred from a gynecologist were screened and 30 were enrolled as participants. ey were randomly assigned to receive verum laser acupuncture (n 15) or sham laser acupuncture (n 15)
27 (90%) finished treatment; one patient in the experimental group dropped out because of schedule conflict and two patients in the control group discontinued the trial due to progressed OAB symptoms and hip fracture in a fall accident, respectively. e baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups (Table 1)
Summary
According to International Continence Society, the overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome was defined in 2002 as “urgency, with or without urgency incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia,” in the absence of proven infection or other obvious pathology [1]. Females suffered more from OAB syndrome than males in the world but the contributing factors remain to be elucidated [2]. According to statistics in different countries, the prevalence of OAB among females ranges from 6.0 to 17.4% [2, 3] and increases with age [4]. OAB has become a major women health issue worldwide. In Taiwan, the age-adjusted prevalence of OAB is 16% in men and 18.3% in women, respectively [5]. OAB poses significant financial impact in the US with medical costs ranging from USD 656 to 860 per patient annually [6]. In a US population-based survey of 2009, the total cost of disease-specific OAB was estimated at USD 24.9 to 36.5 billion [7]. Conventional first-line interventions in the management of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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