Patient-reported outcome after treatment of urinary incontinence in a multidisciplinary pelvic care clinic

ObjectivesTo assess patient-reported outcome and satisfaction regarding urinary incontinence 1year after the end of treatment in a multidisciplinary pelvic care clinic. MethodsA total of 647 patients with urinary incontinence seen in an academic multidisciplinary pelvic care clinic were prospectively included in a specific triage system. Patient-reported improvement of urinary incontinence and patient satisfaction were assessed by telephone survey 1year after the end of treatment. ResultsJust 15.6% of patients presented with one single pelvic floor problem, most had two or three pelvic functional disorders simultaneously, such as urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and constipation or fecal incontinence. One year after the end of treatment, of 440 responders (68%), 18.2% reported no remaining complaints, and 33.4% reported only one complaint. Patients reported a significant improvement of the mean severity (scale 0-10) of urinary incontinence from 7.21.6 pretreatment (=T0) to 4.3 +/- 3.0 1year after the end of treatment (P<0.001). A total of 20.6% of patients reported no urinary incontinence after 1year (P<0.001), and 27.6% (P<0.001) stopped using incontinence pads. Patients claimed high satisfaction with the clinic and care received, with 35.8% being satisfied and 45.5% very satisfied. ConclusionAt 1year after the end of treatment, one out of five patients with urinary incontinence recovered completely, and more than one out of four stopped using incontinence absorption pads. One out of three patients went from having a multifactorial health problem to a monofactorial health problem. High satisfaction rates were reported by more than four out of five patients.