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document
Vaginal electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor : a randomized feasibility study in urinary incontinent elderly women . BACKGROUND To evaluate the effectiveness of intravaginal electrical stimulation ( ES ) of the pelvic floor for urinary incontinence in elderly women , and to determine whether ES of the pelvic floor is a preferable treatment for urinary incontinence in elderly women . METHODS Postmenopausal women ( age 65 years or older ) were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial and underwent every-other-day ES of the pelvic floor , or a daily Kegel exercise ( KE ) program . Objective outcome variables were : ( 1 ) Urinary leakage ( during a standardized PAD test ) , ( 2 ) pelvic muscle strength ( measured by a perineometer ) , and ( 3 ) detrusor instability ( on ambulant urodynamic registration ) . Subjective outcome variables were women 's subjective assessment of change in urinary symptoms based on the PRAFAB score . Twenty-four women treated with ES and 11 women treated with Kegel exercises completed the 8-week study program . The Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis . RESULTS No significant improvement in objective outcome variables was observed in the population treated with ES compared with the population treated with KE ( with 29.2 % vs. 36.4 % of the women showing objective improvement in measured urinary leakage ) . Neither was subjective improvement significant , with 29.2 % vs. 27.3 % of the women reporting improvement in the amount of urinary leakage . CONCLUSIONS Although the number of enrolled women was very small this study shows that : 1 . Treating elderly women with vaginal ES of the pelvic floor has a high physical and emotional cost for the individual . 2 . The effectiveness of ES of the pelvic floor in urinary incontinent elderly women is low . 3 . There is no great discrepancy between objective amelioration ( PAD test ) and subjective amelioration ( PRAFAB score/quantity of urinary leakage ) , if the objective improvement is adequately defined . 4 . It is not reasonable to advise elderly women with urinary incontinence to undertake this treatment procedure . The effectiveness of treatment does not compensate for the long-lasting and intense treatment protocol . 5 . We terminated this study because of the negative outcome with ES .
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Intervention_Physical
Vaginal electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor :
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Intervention_Physical
intravaginal electrical stimulation ( ES )
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Intervention_Physical
ES of the pelvic floor
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Intervention_Physical
ES of the pelvic floor
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Intervention_Physical
daily Kegel exercise ( KE )
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Intervention_Control
program
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Outcome_Physical
Urinary leakage
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Outcome_Physical
pelvic muscle strength
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Outcome_Physical
detrusor instability
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Outcome_Physical
ambulant urodynamic registration
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Outcome_Mental
women 's subjective assessment of change in urinary symptoms
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Outcome_Physical
measured urinary leakage
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Outcome_Physical
urinary leakage
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Outcome_Other
effectiveness