[Diagnosis and management of patients with overactive bladder syndrome in urology clinics and general practitioner clinics in Spain]

Abstract

Objectives: Despite its high prevalence and its important impact on patient's life, overactive bladder is a disorder poorly known and not usually tackled in daily clinical practice. The aim of this study is to know the main procedures and techniques used by both urologists and general practitioners to diagnose overactive bladder in usual clinical practice in Spain.

Methods: A standardized questionnaire was administered to 748 physicians specialized in urology and to 696 primary core physicians or general practitioners. The questionnaire collected information about the management of patients who attended surgery with urinary symptoms suggesting overactive bladder.

Results: A total of 64.8% of urologists argued they followed a standardized protocol in order to diagnose patients suffering from overactive bladder. Concerning primary care physicians, 58.4% of them admitted not referring patients with urinary symptoms suggesting overactive bladder to specialist. Up to 77.8% of urologists confirmed that referred patients from primary care had no previous exam or diagnosis. Health history, physical examination and urinalysis were the usual diagnosis procedures in clinical practice conditions for both specialities. Other instruments such as the micturition diary or the questionnaires to assess symptoms or patients' quality of life are still little used for the diagnosis and management of overactive bladder.

Conclusions: Although overactive bladder is a condition that causes a high impairment in the quality of life (QoL) and daily activities of those patients suffering from it, it still remains poorly tackled by doctors. Therefore, it is important to define strategies to detect its symptoms in the clinical practice.