EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS The most studied combination therapy for the treatment of male LUTS is the α1-adrenoceptor antagonist/5α-reductase inhibitor combination .
This combination seems to be more efficacious in terms of several outcome variables , in particular in men who have moderate-to-severe LUTS and are at risk of disease progression .
Also in terms of nocturia improvements , this combination is significantly more effective than the monotherapy .
The other often studied combination treatment , in both male and female patients with LUTS , was the combination of antimuscarinics ( in particular solifenacin ) and mirabegron .
This combination seems to be more effective in comparison with the monotherapies with respect to urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence episodes and several other objective and subjective parameters , without relevant increase of adverse events .
The combination of hormone therapy and antimuscarinics in women with LUTS does not seem to be useful .
For the treatment of LUTS in men and women , combination therapy appears to be a promising option to optimize the efficacy of the available drugs for those who do not experience sufficient benefit with monotherapy .
This add-on scenario offers the possibility to have a more tailored approach to the management of LUTS , always seeking the optimal balance between efficacy and tolerability for a given patient .
PATIENT SUMMARY Some combination of drugs may offer advantages over monotherapies for the treatment of voiding and storage complaints in men and women
CONTEXT Several drugs are approved and available for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms ( LUTS ) in men and women .
However , the vast majority of available data , upon which the approval and recommendation in guidelines are based , considered only the role of the monotherapies and did not evaluate possible combination therapies .
OBJECTIVE This systematic review analyzes the efficacy and adverse events of combination therapies for male and female LUTS .
Effect of combined treatment with phenylpropanolamine and estriol, compared with estriol treatment alone, in postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence.
Twenty-nine postmenopausal women with slight to severe stress urinary incontinence and estrogen deficiency symptoms in the urogenital tract were treated with estriol , p.o . 4 mg once daily , and either phenylpropanolamine ( PPA ) , p.o . 50 mg twice daily , or placebo for periods of 6 weeks according to a r and omized double-blind crossover schedule . At urodynamic recordings the maximum urethral closure pressure increased by 22 % with combined treatment ( p less than 0.001 ) and an additional effect of PPA to estriol was shown ( p = 0.022 ) . The pressure transmission ratio increased , by about 15 % , with both treatments ( p less than 0.07 ) . The number of leakage episodes was reduced by 28 % with combined treatment ( p = 0.007 ) , but not with estriol alone ( p = 0.08 ) . Both combined treatment and estriol alone reduced significantly ( p less than 0.01 ) the urinary incontinence complaints . Twelve women ( 43 % ) preferred combined treatment , while 7 ( 25 % ) preferred estriol alone . In women with initially slight to very severe urine loss , combined treatment reduced also ( p = 0.02 ) the amount of urine loss , measured at a st and ardized physical stress test . Signs of estrogen deficiency in vulva , vagina and urethra were reduced , 75 % ( p less than 0.001 ) or 65 % ( p = 0.001 ) with estriol given in combination with PPA or alone . Maturation index of both urethral and vaginal epithelium displayed significant changes . It is concluded that the combined treatment , PPA + estriol , by affecting both the muscular and mucosal factor of the urethra , is more effective than estriol alone for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence in the postmenopausal ages
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS The most studied combination therapy for the treatment of male LUTS is the α1-adrenoceptor antagonist/5α-reductase inhibitor combination .
This combination seems to be more efficacious in terms of several outcome variables , in particular in men who have moderate-to-severe LUTS and are at risk of disease progression .
Also in terms of nocturia improvements , this combination is significantly more effective than the monotherapy .
The other often studied combination treatment , in both male and female patients with LUTS , was the combination of antimuscarinics ( in particular solifenacin ) and mirabegron .
This combination seems to be more effective in comparison with the monotherapies with respect to urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence episodes and several other objective and subjective parameters , without relevant increase of adverse events .
The combination of hormone therapy and antimuscarinics in women with LUTS does not seem to be useful .
For the treatment of LUTS in men and women , combination therapy appears to be a promising option to optimize the efficacy of the available drugs for those who do not experience sufficient benefit with monotherapy .
This add-on scenario offers the possibility to have a more tailored approach to the management of LUTS , always seeking the optimal balance between efficacy and tolerability for a given patient .
PATIENT SUMMARY Some combination of drugs may offer advantages over monotherapies for the treatment of voiding and storage complaints in men and women
CONTEXT Several drugs are approved and available for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms ( LUTS ) in men and women .
However , the vast majority of available data , upon which the approval and recommendation in guidelines are based , considered only the role of the monotherapies and did not evaluate possible combination therapies .
OBJECTIVE This systematic review analyzes the efficacy and adverse events of combination therapies for male and female LUTS .