Disparities in the management of multiple sclerosis-related bladder symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Participants enrolled in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) registry report disability status using Performance Scales (PS), a self-report measure. The bladder/bowel subscale (PSB) of PS has not been validated. It is also unknown whether ethnic or socioeconomic disparities exist in bladder care. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to validate the bladder/bowel subscale used by the NARCOMS registry and to describe urologic symptoms, investigations, and treatments received by registry participants. METHODS: In the Fall 2005 update questionnaire, we collected the Bowel Control Scale (BWCS) and Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6) as criterion measures and urologic investigations and treatments. We measured associations between investigations, treatments, and symptoms with clinical and sociodemographic variables using chi(2) tests for categorical variables and Kruskal-Wallis tests for continuous variables, followed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Nine thousand six hundred eighty-eight participants completed the survey. For the UDI-6, the median (interquartile range) score was 33.3 (16.7 to 50.0), for the BWCS 3 (1 to 6), and for the PSB 1 (1 to 3). The correlation between the PSB and the UDI-6 was r = 0.67 and between the PSB and the BWCS r = 0.53 (both p < 0.0001). Participants had increased odds of receiving medication for bladder symptoms if they had health insurance (odds ratio [OR] 1.90; 1.07 to 3.35). Participants who were white (OR 1.5; 1.16 to 1.94) and had health insurance (OR 2.0; 1.3 to 3.07) had increased odds of undergoing urologic investigations. CONCLUSION: The Performance Scales bladder question has adequate criterion and construct validity in multiple sclerosis (MS). There are ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in bladder management in MS.

Patient-reported outcomes in overactive bladder: the influence of perception of condition and expectation for treatment benefit.

Patient perceptions of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms, expectations for treatment benefit, and overall treatment satisfaction share complex relations. Multiple studies have demonstrated associations between factors, such as age, sex, and ethnicity, and patient perceptions of OAB symptoms, especially urgency urinary incontinence. Perceptions of OAB are also shaped by symptom severity and impact on health-related quality of life, as well as by perceptions of family members, caregivers, and clinicians. The literature further suggests discrepancies in the reporting among patients, physicians, and family members/caregivers of the impact that urinary symptoms have on patients' emotional well-being, productivity, and daily life. Understanding the factors that affect patients' perceptions is important because these perceptions affect treatment expectations, which may predict treatment outcomes. Studies designed to evaluate the relations between expectations for OAB treatment and patient satisfaction have not been performed to date, but studies in other patient populations suggest that expectations of positive outcomes are associated with greater treatment satisfaction. We emphasize that patient satisfaction with treatment is directly related to fulfillment of positive expectations, and that patient expectations should be realistic and agreed on by patient and physician. We also discuss strategies that may be used by physicians managing patients with OAB to develop stronger patient-physician partnerships, including the effective communication required to make treatment decisions and set realistic expectations.