Via practica 2/2012

Diagnosis and treatment of irritable bladder in primary care

Organic and functional disorders of the lower urinary tract constitute not only a significant and urgent social problem from the medical point of view but also pose serious social and economic problem. The functional or organic defects of the storage or emptying function of the bladder occur most often. The prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) with an urgent incontinence in women in Slovakia amounts to 10.2%, which means that from this extremely unpleasant symptom suffers around 200 000 women older than 18 years. The most important symptom is urgency – a sudden, overwhelming feeling to urinate, which forces the patient to leave any activity and go to toilette. The treatment of OAB can be divided to the four groups: the behavioral therapy, pharmacological therapy, surgical treatment and treatment of refractory OAB. Also primary care physicians must take responsibility for the treatment of OAB. After a careful medical history, with the use of questionnaires and urinary diary they can use a full range of medicaments, which are successful in approximately 70% of the patients.

Keywords: overactive bladder, urge incontinence, urgency, anticholinergics.