Pharmacological treatment of and inappropriate prescriptions for patients with overactive bladder and urinary incontinence v1

Introduction: Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. It predominantly affects women and is related to age, and many drugs can worsen the symptoms. The objective of this study was to identify the pattern of use of medications used to treat overactive bladder and urinary incontinence and those that affect bladder emptying in Colombian patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a population database that identified medications for treating patients with overactive bladder or urinary incontinence and those associated with bladder emptying. Pharmacological, sociodemographic, and clinical variables were used, and the association with the risk of receiving potentially inappropriate prescriptions was established. Results: A total of 3598 patients with overactive bladder and urinary incontinence (mean age, 72.7 ± 19.3 years) were identified; 63.1% were women. A total of 21.0% received pharmacological treatment, particularly with tolterodine (42.4%), and 68.7% used adult diapers. A total of 63.6% of the cases received at least 1 drug associated with worsening of urinary incontinence, in particular amlodipine (13.5%), furosemide (12.2%) and hydrochlorothiazide (9.4%). A history of bipolar affective disorder (OR: 9.54; 95% CI: 5.01-18.19), schizophrenia (OR: 9.25; 95% CI: 3.19-26.83), osteoarthrosis (OR: 5.49; CI95%: 2.80-10.76), and benign prostatic hyperplasia (OR: 7.43; CI95%: 4.30-12.83) significantly increased the probability of being prescribed medications that worsen urinary incontinence. Conclusions: A low proportion of patients with urinary incontinence or overactive bladder were receiving pharmacological treatment, but very often, they were receiving drugs that can affect bladder emptying, which can affect quality of life.