Electrical stimulation on urinary symptoms following stroke: a systematic review

Abstract

Background and purpose: Urinary symptoms are common following stroke and are often caused by overactive bladder (OAB). This review evaluates the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) on urinary symptoms after stroke.

Materials and methods: Seven databases were searched for articles investigating ES interventions designed to reduce urinary symptoms after stroke. The internal validity was assessed using Cochrane modified risk of bias tool for RCT studies and CASP checklists for observational studies. Effect of ES was evaluated through narrative synthesis of results.

Results: Four RCT studies and two observational studies were included. In general, study populations were small, and a variety of ES types were used. Statistically significant improvements in self-reported urinary symptoms and in urodynamic parameters were found across included studies; however, the internal validity in general was low. Furthermore, five of the six studies failed to report effects estimates and 95% confidence interval, thus the magnitude of effects and the precision of results could not be judged.

Conclusion: There may be a positive effect of ES on urinary incontinence after stroke in adults. However, the current level of evidence is poor, the magnitude of effect unclear and the optimal type of ES intervention is still to be determined.

Keywords:

• Stroke
• urinary symptoms
• incontinence
• electrical stimulation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.