Role of the community nurse in Parkinson's disease and lower urinary disorders

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incurable and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. People with PD also have increased muscle weakness and the typical symptoms of tremor, stiffness, slowness, balance problems and/or gait disorders. Other symptoms may include an overactive bladder, urgency and nocturia which can often lead to incontinence. Treatment options vary are dependent on the cause of the incontinence and should focus on improving Quality of life with a multi-pronged diagnosis-specific approach that takes into consideration a patient's ability to comply with treatment. The article looks at the role of the community nurse in caring for patients with PD and lower urinary disorders. They have a key role in assessment of patients and supporting families with tailor made bladder training such as establish a regular toilet routine, education about pelvic floor exercises or supply of incontinence products.

OnabotulinumtoxinA is a well tolerated and effective treatment for refractory overactive bladder in real-world practice

Introduction and hypothesis In randomized clinical trials onabotulinumtoxinA was demonstrated to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for overactive bladder (OAB) with urinary incontinence (UI). However, data reporting onabotulinumtoxinA use in everyday clinical practice are limited. Here, we present the results from a large, first-of-its-kind real-world study in patients with OAB. Methods This was a prospective, observational, multinational study (GRACE; ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02161159) performed in four European countries. Patients (N = 504) aged ≥ 18 years with OAB inadequately managed with ≥ 1 anticholinergic received onabotulinumtoxinA per their physician’s normal clinical practice. Results Physicians primarily used rigid cystoscopes for onabotulinumtoxinA injection; anesthesia/analgesia was utilized during most treatment procedures. Significant reductions in UI episodes/day from baseline to weeks 1 and 12 were observed as well as in micturition, urgency, and nocturia episodes/day. These improvements in urinary symptoms corresponded to higher scores on the treatment benefit scale at week 12. The use of other OAB medications dropped from baseline to weeks 1 and 12 and was sustained to week 52, which paralleled a reduction in the number of incontinence products used during that time frame. Adverse reactions were reported in 2.6% of patients throughout the study. Conclusions In this real-world study, significant improvements in urinary symptoms were seen following onabotulinumtoxinA treatment as early as week 1 and sustained to at least week 12. This was accompanied by a reduced reliance upon incontinence products and reduction in concomitant OAB medication use. OnabotulinumtoxinA was well tolerated with no new safety signals.