Pelvic floor architectural defects in female patients with urge fecal incontinence versus passive fecal leakage: a dynamic ultrasound study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Fecal incontinence (FI) has two primary subtypes: urgency fecal incontinence (UFI) and passive fecal leakage (PFL). The pathophysiology underlying the subtypes is incompletely understood. OBJECTIVES: To compare the bowel habits, physical examinations and pelvic floor anatomical defects in patients with UFI-dominant FI versus patients with PFL-dominant FI. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of female patients who presented with fecal incontinence symptoms to our tertiary urogynecology center. All subjects underwent a comprehensive history, physical examination, 3D-static pelvic floor ultrasound, and 2D-dynamic ultrasound of the posterior compartment. Patients with UFI-dominant FI were compared to patients with PFL-dominant FI. RESULTS: One hundred forty-five patients were included in the analysis; 57 categorized as UFI-dominant FI, 69 PFL-dominant FI and 19 categorized as having "both" leakage patterns. In comparing bowel habits, patient with UFI-dominant FI had more frequent bowel movements (15.5 ± SD 13.0/week vs. 10.9 ± SD 7.6 /week, p = 0.022) and were more likely to have loose stools (48.2% vs. 26.1%, p = 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed in the prevalence of external anal sphincter defect (11.3% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.38) or internal anal sphincter defect (11.3% vs. 19%, p = 0.26) between groups. Finally, patients with UFI-dominant FI had a higher incidence of rectal hypermobility (loss of rectal support on Valsalva) (58% vs. 36.9%, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Patients with urge-predominant FI have increased frequency of bowel movements, looser stools, and increased rectal folding diagnosed via dynamic ultrasound as compared to patients with passive-dominant FI.

Female Urethral Diverticula: Diagnosis, Pathology, and Surgical Outcomes at an Academic, Urban Medical Center.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the outcomes of a series of women diagnosed with a urethral diverticulum at an urban tertiary care center. METHODS: An Institutional Review Board-approved review of a series of 78 women with a diagnosis of urethral diverticulum from 2009 to 2015 was performed. Clinical, radiographic, and pathologic data was collected by retrospective review of patient medical records. Data regarding treatment selection and postoperative outcomes were collected. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify preoperative variables that were associated with undergoing surgical resection. RESULTS: Of the 78 patients reviewed, the median age was 45.5 years (interquartile range (IQR) 36.0-53.8), median body mass index was 30.4 (IQR 24.8-34.4). The most common presenting symptoms included: incontinence (39%), recurrent urinary tract infections (23%), dysuria (18%), discharge (13%), dyspareunia (12%), and hematuria (9%). Additionally, 16 (21%) women were asymptomatic. Of these 78 cases, 40 underwent surgical excision (51%). Of the remaining 38, 13 were symptomatic and lost to follow-up, 23 were managed expectantly, and 2 underwent surgery after the study period. Review of the pathology results revealed that the most common finding was squamous metaplasia (31%). There was 1 adenocarcinoma in the series (2.5%). Of the 40 patients who had surgery, 3 (7.5%) had a diverticular recurrence and 5 (12.5%) developed stress urinary incontinence. The median follow-up was 7.5 months (IQR 1-20.25 months). CONCLUSION: A variety of presenting symptoms existed for women with a urethral diverticulum seeking medical care at an urban medical center. When controlling for age, body mass index, and race, the presence of preoperative symptoms was associated with undergoing surgical resection.

Predictors of successful percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Multiple publications have demonstrated the efficacy of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) for overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). However, patient characteristics associated with successful treatment have not been well established. The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors for successful PTNS treatment. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of women who underwent PTNS therapy for OAB between January 2011-Decemeber 2017. Treatment success was defined by subjective improvement according to patient self-report and objective bladder diary parameters including the intervoiding interval, nocturia episodes and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) episodes per day, before and after PTNS treatment. Baseline symptoms were dichotomized for each symptom based on severity. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-two women with a mean age of 72.7 ± 11.3 years and BMI of 28.5 ± 7.1 were included in the study. There was a statistically significant improvement in all three OAB symptoms after treatment. Multivariable analysis revealed that a history of depression and anxiety was associated with subjective improvement, whereas decreased subjective improvement was associated with a history of hypertension, prior intravesical onabotulinnumtoxinA injection and sacral neuromodulation. While dichotomizing subjects into two groups defined by < 50% versus ≥ 50% improvement, depression/anxiety, urodynamic volume at first sensation to void and more severe baseline urgency urinary incontinence severity were all significant predictors of subjective improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Among women treated with PTNS for refractory OAB, a history of depression/anxiety and severe baseline urgency urinary incontinence were positive predictors of a successful PTNS outcome.