Background: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the "real-life" data of patients following successful treatment with PTNS for overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) or non-obstructive voiding dysfunction (NOVD) at a seven-year follow-up after the procedure.
Methods: Patients who were successfully treated with PTNS for OAB or NOVD between February 2008 and January 2009 were contacted for a telephonic interview seven years after the end of their PTNS stimulation protocol. Patients who agreed to the interview were asked to complete a global response assessment (GRA). Patients in the OAB category completed the OAB short-form questionnaire Symptom Bother Scale (OAB-q SF) and the OAB Health-Related Quality of Life Scale (OAB HRQL), and NOVD patients were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score - voiding questions (v-IPSS). Results of both questionnaires were compared with those obtained seven years previously, at the time of the initial PTNS treatment.
Results: Seventeen patients were identified in our database. Sixteen agreed to the interview, but the remaining patient was unreachable and was therefore considered as lost at follow-up. Eight patients were classified into the OAB group, and eight were classified into the NOVD group. No patient reported a worsening condition after PTNS. Six of the eight patients (75%) in the OAB group gave positive responses in the GRA. All patients in the NOVD group gave positive responses in the GRA.
Conclusions: Despite some limitations, this study shows that the majority of patients who responded to PTNS considered themselves still improved at a seven-year follow-up. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results, but our study has the novel advantage of showing data derived from "real life" over the longest follow-up yet considered in the literature.