Abstract
BackgroundBladder spasm is a common side effect of urological surgery. Main treatment modalities include opioids or anticholinergic medication; however, bladder spasms still occur even after these interventions. Recent studies indicate that transcutaneous stimulation of the foot can result in 50% increase in bladder capacity in healthy adults, and inhibit bladder detrusor overactivity in spinal cord injured patients. In this study, we examined the effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the foot on bladder spasms related symptoms.MethodsSixty-six male patients who underwent prostate or bladder surgeries due to benign prostatic hyperplasia or bladder diseases were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (n = 36) and the treatment group (n = 30). The control group received the routine postoperative care. The treatment group received daily transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the foot during 3 days after surgery; each time lasted for 60 min. All patients were evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale for pain sensation, frequency of bladder spasm episodes, and a total score of bladder spasms symptoms.ResultsIn the control group, the patients with bladder surgery had a higher Visual Analogue Scale score than patients with prostate surgery (P = 0.024). In both treatment and control groups, the Visual Analogue Scale score, spasm frequency, and total score of bladder spasm symptoms decreased from day 1 to day 3 (P <0.001). The Visual Analogue Scale score at day 2, total score of bladder spasm symptoms at day 2 and day 3 were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group (P <0.05).ConclusionThese results provided preliminary evidence suggesting beneficial effects of stimulating somatic afferent nerves in the foot on postoperative bladder spasms.Trial registrationThe study was registered with Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on June 13 2016 (http://www.chictr.org.cn/) (Identifier: ChiCTR-INR-16008635)
Highlights
IntroductionMain treatment modalities include opioids or anticholinergic medication; bladder spasms still occur even after these interventions
Bladder spasm is a common side effect of urological surgery
Recent studies indicate that transcutaneous stimulation of the foot can result in more than 50% increase in bladder capacity in healthy adults [10], and inhibit bladder detrusor overactivity in spinal cord-injured patients [11]
Summary
Main treatment modalities include opioids or anticholinergic medication; bladder spasms still occur even after these interventions. We examined the effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the foot on bladder spasms related symptoms. Bladder spasm is a common side effect of urological surgery; it could result in postoperative pain and hemorrhage and may prolong bladder recovery. We hypothesize that transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the foot might partially or completely relieve the symptoms caused by postoperative bladder spasms. To test this hypothesis, this study examined the effects of electrical stimulation of the foot in patients who underwent surgical procedures for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) or bladder diseases
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