The following is a summary of “Our 11-Year Experience With Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation in Men and Women for the Treatment of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome,” published in the December 2023 issue of Urology by Abdalla, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to assess the effectiveness of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).

A retrospective analysis of patient charts was conducted for individuals who underwent a minimum of 10 weekly PTNS sessions between January 2010 and October 2021. Success with PTNS was defined as transitioning to PTNS maintenance therapy after completing 12 weeks of PTNS induction treatment. Data were analyzed using GraphPad software.

Over the 11-year study duration, 27 out of 34 patients (mean age 52.9 ± 16.8 years; 25 females, 9 males) completed the full 12 weeks of PTNS induction therapy, and 48.1% (13/27) successfully transitioned to PTNS maintenance therapy. Significant improvements were observed in the urgency severity scale (mean score: 2.9 ± 1.2 before vs. 1.1 ± 1.1 after PTNS, P = .001) and nocturnal urinary frequency (mean number of voids: 3.3 ± 1.9 before vs. 2.2 ± 1.6 after PTNS, P = .041). While nonsignificant, improvements were noted in daytime void frequency (mean hours: 1.5 ± 0.7 before vs. 2.0 ± 0.9 after PTNS, P = .090) and the pain domain of the interstitial cystitis symptoms index (question 4 mean score: 2.5 ± 1.4 before vs. 1.3 ± 1.8 after PTNS, P = .082).

The retrospective study, involving one of the largest samples of PTNS in IC/BPS from a single center, suggested that PTNS may offer significant improvements in urinary urgency and nocturia, with trends towards improvement in pain and daytime void frequency. The findings indicated that PTNS could be a promising option for the multimodal management of IC/BPS.

Reference: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(23)00744-6/abstract