Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition in elderly men causing a severe worsening of quality of life, and a significant cost for both patients and health systems.
To report a practical, evidence-based, guideline on definitions, pathophysiology, diagnostic workup, and treatment options for men with different forms of UI.
A comprehensive literature search, limited to studies representing high levels of evidence and published in the English language, was performed. Databases searched included Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Libraries. A level of evidence and a grade of recommendation were assigned.
UI can be classified into stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urge urinary incontinence (UUI), and mixed urinary incontinence. A detailed description of the pathophysiology and diagnostic workup has been reported. Simple clinical interventions, behavioural and physical modifications, and pharmacological treatments comprise the initial management for all kinds of UI. Surgery for SUI includes bulking agents, male sling, and compression devices. Surgery for UUI includes bladder wall injection of botulinum toxin A, sacral nerve stimulation, and cystoplasty/urinary diversion.
This 2022 European Association of Urology guideline summary provides updated information on definition, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of male UI.
Male urinary incontinence comprises a broad subject area, much of which has been covered for the first time in the literature in a single manuscript. The European Association of Urology Non-neurogenic Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Guideline Panel has released this new guidance, with the aim to provide updated information for urologists to be able to follow diagnostic and therapeutic indications for optimising patient care.
European urology. 2022 Jun 10 [Epub ahead of print]
Mauro Gacci, Vasileios I Sakalis, Markos Karavitakis, Jean-Nicolas Cornu, Christian Gratzke, Thomas R W Herrmann, Iason Kyriazis, Sachin Malde, Charalampos Mamoulakis, Malte Rieken, Natasha Schouten, Emma J Smith, Mark J Speakman, Kari A O Tikkinen, Stavros Gravas
Unit of Urological Robotic Surgery and Renal Transplantation, University of Florence, Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Agios Pavlos General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece., Department of Urology, University General Hospital of Heraklion, University of Crete Medical School, Heraklion, Crete, Greece., Department of Urology, CHU Hôpitaux de Rouen - Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France., Department of Urology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Department of Urology, Kantonsspital Frauenfeld, Frauenfeld, Switzerland., Department of Urology, General University Hospital of Patras, Patras, Greece., Department of Urology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK., University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland., European Association of Urology Guidelines Office, Arnhem, The Netherlands., Department of Urology, Taunton & Somerset Hospital, Taunton, UK., Department of Urology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Surgery, South Karelia Central Hospital, Lappeenranta, Finland., Department of Urology, Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.