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Review
. 2021 Oct;24(7):1237-1246.
doi: 10.1111/ner.13459. Epub 2021 May 19.

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation for Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Sam Parittotokkaporn  1 , Chris Varghese  2 , Gregory O'Grady  2   3 , Anna Lawrence  4 , Darren Svirskis  5 , Simon J O'Carroll  1
Affiliations
Review

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation for Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Sam Parittotokkaporn et al. Neuromodulation. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for neurogenic bladder dysfunction secondary to spinal cord injury (SCI).

Materials and methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane libraries up to February 2021 was performed using PRISMA methodology. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that studied TENS for neurogenic bladder in a SCI population were included. The primary outcomes of interest were maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) and maximum detrusor pressure (Pdet). Meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan v5.3.

Results: Six RCTs involving 353 participants were included. Meta-analysis showed that TENS significantly increased MCC (standardized mean difference 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08-2.14, p = 0.03, I2 = 54%) in acute SCI. No benefits were seen for maximum Pdet. TENS was associated with no major adverse events.

Conclusions: TENS may be an effective, safe intervention for neurogenic bladder dysfunction following SCI. Further studies are essential to confirm these results and more work is required to determine optimal stimulation parameters and duration of the treatment.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; neurogenic bladder; randomized controlled trial; spinal cord injury; transcutaneous electrical stimulation.

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