RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Diagnosis and management of female urinary incontinence in general practice.
JF The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
JO J R Coll Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP 277
OP 279
VO 39
IS 324
A1 J V Jolleys
YR 1989
UL http://bjgp.org/content/39/324/277.abstract
AB In response to an invitation sent to women who had complained previously of regular incontinence, 65 women with regular incontinence were seen by their general practitioner. A diagnosis was made using a personally administered questionnaire and appropriate examination. Patients were placed in one of three diagnostic/management categories--stress, urge or stress/urge incontinence--and were given an appropriate treatment programme. Fifty six women were recruited as matched controls from non-responders while attending the surgery for other reasons. They underwent identical entry procedures but were not offered a treatment programme. All the patients were reassessed after 12 weeks at which time significant improvement in incontinence was reported by the treated women in the stress and urge categories compared with the controls. There was no significant difference in reported efficacy of treatment between age groups and treatment was shown to be effective irrespective of the duration of incontinence. This study shows that for the majority of women reporting incontinence the condition can be diagnosed by a general practitioner and significantly improved by appropriate intervention.