A randomised controlled trial study of the efficacy of intensive pre-operative pelvic floor muscle training to decrease post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence

Abstract

Background: Radical prostatectomy is the gold-standard treatment for clinically organ-confined cancer of the prostate. However, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction are major clinical problems, despite advances in surgical techniques. Pelvic floor muscle training is still the first-line treatment used to restore pelvic floor or bladder function after radical prostatectomy although its role is still inconclusive.

Objectives: To determine the benefit of starting pelvic floor muscle training three weeks before radical prostatectomy in order to find by the end of three months after surgery: (1) any degree of continence regained in the intervention group, measured by 24-hour and one-hour pad tests; (2) any positive improvement in the quality of life in that group.

Methods: Sixty-six eligible participants were randomised into either the intervention or the control group before radical prostatectomy. The former received three weeks’ pre-operative pelvic floor muscle training from an advanced practice nurse, while the latter received only standard care. Urine loss by 24-hour pad test was compared in the two groups as the primary outcome, and the questionnaires on incontinence impact, functional assessment on prostate cancer and potency satisfaction at one, two, three and six months after surgery were compared as secondary outcomes.

Results: The intervention group regained continence significantly (p=0.002) earlier than the control group at the end of three months after surgery, as measured by the 24-hour pad test. The intervention group also reported a significantly better quality of life in the questionnaire on ‘incontinence impact’ than the control group. Interestingly, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate questionnaire showed no statistical significant difference between the groups, despite significantly less urine loss in the intervention group, which also had a higher potency satisfaction score on the International Index of Erectile Function (p=0.005) by the end of three months after surgery.

Discussion: The present study found that three weeks’ pre-operative pelvic floor muscle training decreased the duration and severity of incontinence after radical prostatectomy, as measured by the 24-hour pad test of urine loss (in grams). Some other studies counted the number of pads used as the comparative data between the groups; however, there might be divergent findings in different studies. In one previous study of pelvic floor muscle training initiated two to four weeks before surgery but showing no benefit, it was found that patients received only one training session before surgery without further monitoring. A limitation of present study is that participants were followed-up for six months after surgery. It is possible that a longer period, perhaps one or two years, of post-prostatectomy follow-up might provide further important information.

Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive study in Hong Kong to examine the efficacy of three weeks’ pre-operative pelvic floor muscle training in reducing post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence, and to evaluate the continence-related quality of life and potency satisfaction of intervention and control groups. The results demonstrated that such training not only significantly hastens the recovery of urinary continence after surgery but also leads to a better continence-related quality of life and potency satisfaction in the intervention group.