Short-term Clinical Efficacy of Electric Pudendal Nerve Stimulation on Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Disease: A Pilot Research

Abstract

To compare the short-term efficacy of electrical pudendal nerve stimulation (EPNS) vs anogenital electrical stimulation (AES) for neurogenic lower urinary tract disease. Sixty eligible participants were randomized at a ratio of 2:1 to the test group of 40 patients and the control group of 20. The test group was treated with EPNS and the control group was treated with AES. After 12 sessions of treatment, therapeutic effects were evaluated based on self-assessed questionnaire scores. All patients with a residual urine volume >50 mL were also assessed by the post-treatment residual urine volume. At the end of treatment, the median symptom score and the quality of life score were 11 (range 3-23) and 4.26 (range 1.00-5.81) in the test group, and the median post-treatment residual urine volume was 46 (range 0-223) mL. By contrast, the median severity of symptoms and quality of life scores were 15 (range 8-33) and 3.84 (range 0.89-5.84) in the control group, and the median post-treatment residual urine volume was 105 (range 28-340) mL. Significant differences between the test group and the control group could be observed in the post-treatment symptom score, the quality of life score, and the residual urine volume (with P = .005, P <.001, P = .02, respectively). Compared with AES, EPNS is more effective in treating neurogenic lower urinary tract disease in the short term.