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Lee, Kim, and Lee: The Characteristics of Voiding Difficulty in Women and the Effect of Tamsulosin
Original Article
Korean Journal of Urology

Korean Journal of Urology 2006; 47(12): 1327-1333.

Published online: 31 December 2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4111/kju.2006.47.12.1327

The Characteristics of Voiding Difficulty in Women and the Effect of Tamsulosin

Jun Ha Lee, Hyo Sin Kim, Ji Youl Lee

Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author (uroljy@catholic.ac.kr)

Received 9 June 2006       Accepted 8 September 2006

Copyright © 2006 The Korean Urological Association

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of female voiding difficulty, and evaluate the effects of the alpha-blocker, tamsulosin, on the symptoms in those patients.

Materials and Methods

148 patients, who complained of voiding difficulty between March 2002 and September 2004, were retrospectively evaluated. 32 patients with anatomical and neuropathic causes were excluded, with the remaining 116 assigned to 4 groups from their urodynamic evaluations: group I, bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) only; group II, BOO plus an overactive bladder (OAB); group III, detrusor underactivity (DU) only; and group IV, DU plus an OAB. After 2 weeks of observation, tamsulosin, 0.2mg/d, was prescribed in all groups, with the patients re-evaluated after 3 months.

Results

58 (50%), 23 (19.8%), 20 (17.3%) and 15 (12.9%) of the 116 study subjects were placed into groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. In group I, 45 (77.5%) had symptomatic improvement after taking tamsulosin for 3 months, and in group II improvement was observed in 73.9% (17/23) of patients. In groups III and IV; however, improvements were seen in only 25 (5/20) and 13.3% (2/15) of cases, respectively. Dizziness, postural hypotension and urinary incontinence occurred in some patients, but these disappeared after the medication was discontinued.

Conclusions

81 patients (69.8%) had a bladder outlet obstruction, without detrusor underactivity, and 62 (76.5%) of these exhibited a voiding improvement after taking tamsulosin for three months. However, in patients with detrusor underactivity, the response rate was very low (20%).

Keywords: Urination disorders, Adrenergic alpha-blockers, Female

Figures and Tables

Table 1
The characteristics of the patients before treatment (means±SE)
kju-47-1327-i001

BOO: bladder outlet obstruction, OAB: overactive bladder, DU: detrusor underactivity, Free Qmax: maximal uroflow in uroflowmetry, PdetQmax: maximal voiding detrusor pressure in pressure-flow study, RV: residual urine, FBC: functional bladder capacity, IPSS: International Prostate Symptom Score, VS: voiding symptom, SS: storage symptom

Table 2
Comparison of the clinical parameters pre- and post-treatment in groups I and II (means±SE)
kju-47-1327-i002

IPSS: International Prostate Symptom Score

Table 3
Comparison of the clinical parameters pre- and post-treatment in groups III and IV (means±SE)
kju-47-1327-i003

IPSS: International Prostate Symptom Score

Table 4
Effect of tamsulosin in each group
kju-47-1327-i004

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