Results of a prospective, multicenter study evaluating quality of life, safety, and efficacy of sacral neuromodulation at twelve months in subjects with symptoms of overactive bladder

AIMS: This prospective, multicenter post-approval study evaluated the success rate of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) with the InterStim® System at 12-months. Subjects with bothersome symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) including urinary urge incontinence (UI) or urgency-frequency (UF), who failed at least one anticholinergic medication and had at least one not tried were included. METHODS: Subjects with successful test stimulation received an SNM implant. Therapeutic success (≥50% improvement in average leaks/day or voids/day or a return to normal voiding frequency [<8 voids/day]) and quality of life through 12 months were evaluated for implanted subjects. RESULTS: Of the 340 subjects that went through test stimulation, 272 were implanted with SNM. Of these, 91% were female, mean age was 57, UI subjects had 3.1 ± 2.7 leaks/day, UF subjects had 12.6 ± 4.5 voids/day. The analysis which includes all implanted subjects with diary data at baseline and 12 months showed an OAB therapeutic success rate of 85% at 12 months. UI subjects had a mean reduction of 2.2 ± 2.7 leaks/day; UF subjects had a mean reduction of 5.1 ± 4.1 voids/day (both P < 0.0001). Subjects showed significant improvement from baseline in all measures of ICIQ-OABqol (all P < 0.0001). 80% of subjects reported improved changes in their urinary symptom interference at 12 months. Device-related adverse events occurred in 16% (56/340) of subjects during test stimulation and 30% (82/272) of subjects post-implant. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study shows SNM is safe and effective and results in improved outcomes through 12 months in subjects with OAB symptoms, without requiring failure of all medications.