ATLAS: Ambulatory Treatments for Leakage Associated With Stress

Women commonly have symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (leakage with physical stress such as coughing or sneezing) and urinary urgency or urge incontinence (leakage associated with the overwhelming urge to urinate). Non-surgical treatment is usually offered as first-line therapy, such as pelvic muscle exercises ("Kegel" exercises) or pessary use. A pessary is a small ring that fits inside the vagina. Pelvic muscle training and exercises may help incontinence by increased awareness and strength of the muscles that are used in holding the urethra closed. Pessary use may help incontinence by providing more support to the bladder and urethra. Both treatments can be helpful in reducing or eliminating incontinence, but it is not known which treatment is better. The study will compare the level of improvement with pelvic muscle exercises, pessary use, and a combination of both exercises and pessary.

Women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) pelvic muscle training and exercises; (2) pessary use; and (3) both exercises and pessary. Women in the exercises groups will have 4 visits over 8 weeks with a specially trained therapist for pelvic muscle training and exercises. Women in the pessary group will be fitted with a pessary to be worn continuously. Assessments will include questionnaires, bladder diary, and physical examination. Follow-up evaluations occur at 3 months, 6 months (by telephone only), and 1 year after initial treatment.

Comparisons: The level of improvement after treatment will be compared in the 3 groups. In addition, women in the 3 groups will record the number of accidental leakage episodes by bladder diary; and the frequency of those episodes will be compared in the 3 groups. Other aspects of health, including health-related quality of life, will be compared in the 3 groups.