Short‐ and long‐term efficacy of solifenacin treatment in patients with symptoms of mixed urinary incontinence

Abstract

To evaluate urinary symptom relief in women with mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) treated for up to 52 weeks with solifenacin succinate for overactive bladder (OAB), as MUI is a complex and distressing condition reported by about a third of incontinent women, and with confirmed efficacy in OAB-related urge incontinence, anticholinergic agents are a reasonable therapeutic option for such women. Patients with OAB (mean of > or = 8 voids/24 h, plus > or = 1 incontinence episode or > or = 1 urgency episode/24 h) were pooled from four studies. A subgroup of 1041 patients reporting MUI at baseline were evaluated over 12 weeks in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, and up to a further 40 weeks in 433 in an open-label solifenacin treatment (5 mg and 10 mg). Voiding frequency, episodes of incontinence and urgency, and volume voided per void, were collected from voiding diaries completed during the 3 days before each study visit. Patients with a history of MUI treated with solifenacin for up to 12 weeks had statistically significant reductions in voiding frequency and episodes of incontinence and urgency vs placebo. In all, 43% and 49% (at 5 mg and 10 mg, respectively) of patients with a history of MUI regained continence after 12 weeks, vs 33% with placebo. Among patients in the open-label study with mixed symptoms, 52% reported regaining continence, and 34% reported resolution of symptomatic urgency based on diary reporting at study end. Sustained improvements in quality of life and high satisfaction ratings accompanied symptom improvements. Significant reductions in OAB-related frequency, incontinence and urgency were reported after 12 weeks of solifenacin treatment in patients with a history of MUI. Symptom improvement in this subgroup was maintained during long-term treatment. These findings support the therapeutic potential of solifenacin for treating symptoms of MUI and the need to re-evaluate classically defined MUI.