Purpose: Intermittent self catheterization (ISC) is the recommended standard treatment for patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction. However standard intermittent catheters can be unwieldy, difficult to use and carry discreetly; this can influence the patient's ability to perform catheterization efficiently, discretely and in privacy, and therefore affect the patient's quality of life. The objective was to evaluate whether the compact and discrete design of the compact catheter improves the quality of life for ISC users compared with standard catheters.
Materials and Methods: The study was a non-blinded randomized multicentre two-way crossover study with two treatment periods of 6 weeks +/- 3 days. 125 patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction were included in the study from 17 study sites in; France (7), Germany (3), Denmark (3), Sweden (3) and Norway (1). Quality of life was evaluated with the ISC-Q (intermittent self catheterization questionnaire)9. The difference in ISC-Q score between the compact catheter and standard hydrophilic coated catheters was analysed using a mixed linear normal model.
Results: The ISC-Q score increased significantly due to use of compact catheters. An estimated mean difference of 17.0 between compact and standard intermittent catheter (p < 0.001) was observed, corresponding to a 28% increase. The primary results of the study are further supported by the positive results for the secondary objective of preference, 63% of the patients preferred the compact catheter.
Conclusions: The study showed that the discrete and compact design of the compact catheter significantly improves the quality of life related to the intermittent self catheterization for the patients.
Written by:
Chartier-Kastler E, Amarenco G, Lindbo L, Soljanik I, Andersen HL, Bagi P, Gjødsbøl K, Domurath B Are you the author?
Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Urology clinic, Garches, France
Reference: J Urol. 2013 Apr 12 (Epub ahead of print)
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2013.04.026
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23587630
Read an expert commentary on this paper written by Diane K. Newman, DNP, FAAN, BCB-PMD
