Real-World Patterns of Care for the Overactive Bladder (OAB) Syndrome in the United States

To examine the "real world" OAB practice patterns using national data in the US.

The Humedica(®) EHR database was queried. This database consists of de-identified patient records from a network of organizations treating approximately over 30 million patients across states in the US.

The entire study period was from 7/1/2008 to 9/30/2013. Patients with a diagnosis of OAB between 7/1/2009 and 6/30/2012 were included and followed. Patient comorbidities, demographics, diagnostic testing, and medication usage were analyzed.

Of 19,309,600 subjects enrolled during the study period, 46,648 adults had a diagnosis of OAB with follow-up of at least 6 months, and met inclusion criteria. There were 35,315 women and 11,333 men. Compared with women, men with OAB were more likely to undergo measurement of a postvoid residual (32% vs. 22%) and a diagnostic cystoscopy (10% vs. 7%). Women were more likely than men to undergo urodynamics (7% vs. 3%). Overall, 34% of women and 19% of men diagnosed with OAB were prescribed medication.

Few patients with OAB underwent invasive diagnostic testing. Anticholinergic medication was prescribed to a minority of patients diagnosed with OAB, indicating possible underuse of a potentially effective therapy. Men were less likely to receive medical therapy than women, despite the fact that OAB is common in both sexes.

Urology. 2015 Oct 02 [Epub ahead of print]

Howard B Goldman, Jennifer T Anger, Canan B Esinduy, Kelly H Zou, David Russell, Xuemei Luo, Fady Ntanios, Martin O Carlsson, J Quentin Clemens

Cleveland Clinic, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA. , University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

PubMed

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