Botulinum Toxin Effective Long Term for Severe OAB

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Detrusor botulinum toxin type A injections are a safe and effective treatment long-term for patients with severe overactive bladder (OAB), Swiss researchers reported at the American Urological Association 2011 annual meeting.

The investigators, led by Daniel Max Schmid, MD, of University Hospital Zurich, presented data on 250 patients with severe OAB (183 women and 67 men; mean age 57 years) who were refractory to anticholinergics and then received injections of low-dose (100 U) botulinum toxin type A into the detrusor to treat severe non-neurogenic OAB. 

Within two weeks, urgency and urinary incontinence disappeared completely in 75% and 85% of patients, respectively. In addition, daily pad usage dropped from 5.0 to 0.5 pads per day. Over a follow-up time of 9.5 years, the relapse rate was 29%.

Findings were reported by co-investigator Sharmistha Roy-Guggenbuehl, MD.