Treatment for overactive bladder: A meta-analysis of tibial versus parasacral neuromodulation.

Background: The study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of parasacral neuromodulation (PNS) versus tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) for patients with overactive bladder (OAB).

Methods: Databases including PubMed, Embase, clinicalTrial.gov, and Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched from January 1, 1999 to September 9, 2022. The improvements in a 3-day voiding diary were set as the primary outcomes. Then, the scores of overactive bladder-validated 8-question awareness tool (OAB-V8), King's health questionnaire (KHQ), and international consultation on incontinence questionnaire overactive bladder (ICIQ-OAB) were also evaluated.

Results: Five articles (4 randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and 1 prospective study) including 255 OAB patients were enrolled. Two kinds of neuromodulations had similar performances in the micturition (mean difference [MD] = 0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.51 to 1.04, P = .50), urgency episodes (MD = -0.16, 95% CI: -0.64 to 0.31, P = .50), incontinence episodes (MD = 0.09, 95% CI: -0.41 to 0.59, P = .72), as well as in the nocturia episodes (MD = 0.04, 95% CI: -0.45 to 0.52, P = .89). Furthermore, there was no difference regarding ICIQ-OAB scores (P = .83), KHQ (P = .91), and OAB-V8 scores (P = .83). Importantly, included studies reported no adverse events in the 2 groups.

Conclusion: TNS and PNS had similar effectiveness for the treatment of OAB, moreover, without any identified adverse events in both groups. However, well-designed RCTs are stilled needed to verify our results.