Poor Bladder Management Linked to Low Quality of Life

THURSDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Bladder treatment that leads to favorable urodynamic results is linked to better quality of life in urinary tract dysfunction patients with spinal cord lesions, according to a study published in the August issue of Urology.

Jurgen Pannek, M.D., and a colleague at Marienhospital Herne in Germany studied 41 consecutive patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction caused by a spinal cord lesion who were performing intermittent self-catheterization. The patients underwent urodynamic examination and completed the German version of the Qualiveen questionnaire, which looks at four quality-of-life measures: limitations, constraints, fears and feelings.

The researchers found that 14 of the patients were classified as having successful bladder management treatment, and 27 were classified as having unsuccessful treatment. Patients with suboptimal bladder function scored significantly worse on the fears and feelings sections of the questionnaire than patients whose treatment was successful. The results also showed a clear tendency toward higher ratings (which indicate more problems) on the limitations and constraints section of the questionnaire, although these trends did not reach statistical significance.

"The results of our study have demonstrated that a treatment regimen leading to favorable urodynamic data and continence correlates with better quality of life," the authors write.

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