Korean J Urol.  2006 Dec;47(12):1327-1333. 10.4111/kju.2006.47.12.1327.

The Characteristics of Voiding Difficulty in Women and the Effect of Tamsulosin

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. uroljy@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of female voiding difficulty, and evaluate the effects of the alpha-blocker, tamsulosin, on the symptoms in those patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 148 patients, who complained of voiding difficulty between March 2002 and September 2004, were retrospectively evaluated. 32 patients with anatomical and neuropathic causes were excluded, with the remaining 116 assigned to 4 groups from their urodynamic evaluations: group I, bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) only; group II, BOO plus an overactive bladder (OAB); group III, detrusor underactivity (DU) only; and group IV, DU plus an OAB. After 2 weeks of observation, tamsulosin, 0.2mg/d, was prescribed in all groups, with the patients re-evaluated after 3 months.
RESULTS
58 (50%), 23 (19.8%), 20 (17.3%) and 15 (12.9%) of the 116 study subjects were placed into groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. In group I, 45 (77.5%) had symptomatic improvement after taking tamsulosin for 3 months, and in group II improvement was observed in 73.9% (17/23) of patients. In groups III and IV; however, improvements were seen in only 25 (5/20) and 13.3% (2/15) of cases, respectively. Dizziness, postural hypotension and urinary incontinence occurred in some patients, but these disappeared after the medication was discontinued.
CONCLUSIONS
81 patients (69.8%) had a bladder outlet obstruction, without detrusor underactivity, and 62 (76.5%) of these exhibited a voiding improvement after taking tamsulosin for three months. However, in patients with detrusor underactivity, the response rate was very low (20%).

Keyword

Urination disorders; Adrenergic alpha-blockers; Female

MeSH Terms

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists
Dizziness
Female
Humans
Hypotension, Orthostatic
Retrospective Studies
Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction
Urinary Bladder, Overactive
Urinary Incontinence
Urination Disorders
Urodynamics
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists

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