Evaluation of Efficacy and Patient Satisfaction of Local Anaesthesia Versus Sedoanalgesia for Botox (R) Injection in the Urinary Bladder for the Treatment of Idiopathic Overactive Bladder

Urinary urgency symptoms with frequent micturition, urinary incontinence, nocturia and recurrent urinary tract infections are typical complaints of women with symptoms of an overactive bladder. The level of suffering is usually very high. Social withdrawal, depressive moods, frequent antibiotic use and financial burdens due to the increased need for incontinence products can be the result. In accordance with the guideline-based treatment of idiopathic overactive bladder, intravesical injection of botulinum toxin A can be offered after unsuccessful conservative first-line and second-line treatment. Intravesical injection of botulinum toxin A has been approved for the treatment of idiopathic overactive bladder in Austria since 2013. Botulinum toxin A is a registered drug in Austria and is used for injection into the detrusor with 100IE according to its approval indication.

Intravesical botulinum toxin A injections can be performed under general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedoanalgesia and local anesthesia. Which form of anesthesia is used varies greatly from region to region. The effectiveness of botulinum toxin A is limited in time. Injections are repeated on average after 6-12 months. Patients are often older and often have comorbidities. Due to this and the potential need for repeated applications, the procedure should be performed under general and regional anesthesia. The use of local anesthesia, as one of the anesthesia methods mentioned, is considered to be very low-risk and the least stressful overall.

Comparing the use of local anesthesia with the use of sedoanalgesia to perform the botulinum toxin A injection is equivalent to comparing two guideline-compliant standard treatments. The confirmation of our hypothesis, namely that performing the procedure under local anesthesia is equivalent to performing it under sedoanalgesia (non-inferiority study), could serve to optimize the treatment of overactive bladder patients and contribute to an increase in the level of health protection by strengthening the role of local anesthesia in the context of this procedure as an efficient option with the elimination of all anesthetic risks and as a first-choice procedure.

All patients with overactive bladder symptoms who fulfill the inclusion criteria and present at the Urogynecology Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the LKH Hochsteiermark in Leoben within 24 months will be invited to participate in the study.

The following examinations are carried out on all patients before inclusion, in accordance with the examination standard of our department:

• Medical history: age, micturition frequency day/night, urinary leakage, sexuality, amount drunk, frequency of urinary tract infections, previous treatments for incontinence, parity, secondary diseases (diabetes mellitus, obesity, arterial hypertension, central nervous diseases, etc), previous gynecological operations, medication
• Urogynecological examination
• Urinalysis (midstream urine)
• Urodynamics with stress test
• Micturition protocol (will be scanned)
• Standardized questionnaires to assess incontinence symptoms and quality of life

This is an open prospective randomized controlled non-inferiority study. Patients participating in the study will be randomized into 2 arms (local anesthesia/sedoanalgesia) with a 1:1 ratio. Randomization will be done electronically (www.randomizer.at).

The sample design was calculated based on a non-inferiority study with pain score evaluation as the primary endpoint.

A sample size of 39 per group, including expected drop-outs (approximately 3 per group) results in a required number of participants of 84.

Inclusion criteria

• Women with a minimum age of 18 years; no maximum age
• Unsuccessful conservative first and second-line treatment of OAB (defined as: completed pelvic floor/bladder training, local estrogenization of the vagina, at least one anticholinergic or ß3-mimetic oral therapy)
• Good German language skills

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant women, breastfeeding women (no indication for approval)
• Women unable to give informed consent
• Refusal to participate in the study