Qualidade de vida de mulheres com bexiga hiperativa refratária tratadas com estimulação elétrica do nervo tibial posterior

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in the quality of life (QoL) of women with overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: uncontrolled clinical trial with 11 women that presented overactivity of the detrusor muscle in urodynamic tests. All of the subjects were previously treated with anticholinergic medication, without response. The treatment consisted of 12 PTNS sessions of 30 minutes each, two times a week. The electrical stimulator Dualpex 961® (Quark medical) was used. The instruments chosen to evaluate QoL were the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and the "International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Short-Form" (ICIQ-SF). The questionnaires were applied before and after the treatment. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the following domain scores of the KHQ: incontinence impact (74.55±27.75 versus 38.18±13.82; p=0.008), role limitations (66.45±25.89 versus 26.91±11.22; p=0.008), physical limitations (73.91±29.46 versus 30.91±12.79; p=0.008), social limitations (39.18±35.60 versus 17.45±12.26; p=0.028), personal relationships (25.64±29.16 versus 10.45±15.23; p=0.043), emotions (65.82±38.56 versus 26.00±20.45; p=0.005), sleep/energy (39.18±37.51 versus 16.45±18.17; p=0.012) and severity measures (62.00±17.70 versus 33.00±16.59; p= 0.003), except for general health perception (51.36±30.75 versus 37.73±25.63; p=0.068). In the ICIQ-SF scores it was also possible to observe a significant improvement (10.09±6.50 versus 3.73±3.00; p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The PTNS treatment improved the QoL of women with overactive bladder and refractory to anticholinergic medication. Therefore, PTNS can be considered a good alternative for OAB treatment as it is safe and inexpensive compared to other therapeutic approaches.