Update on duloxetine for the management of stress urinary incontinence

Abstract

Duloxetine is a relatively balanced serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), which is the first drug with widely proven efficacy to have been licensed for the medical treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Despite favorable results from randomized controlled trials, surgical management continues to be the mainstay of treatment for SUI. In this review we explore the pharmacology of duloxetine in the nervous system and lower urinary tract, and the evidence for its use in the management of women with urinary incontinence.

Keywords:

• duloxetine
• stress urinary incontinence
• overactive bladder

Disclosures

Neither author has conflicts of interest to disclose.