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 .
Comparative Effectiveness of Combined Low- and Standard-Dose Trospium and Solifenacin for Moderate Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Elderly Men and Women
Objective : To increase the safety and effectiveness of treatments for overactive bladder ( OAB ) with moderate symptoms in elderly patients . Patients and Methods : Patients were examined at the Urodynamic Department of the Regional Diagnostic Center ( Vladivostok , Russian Federation ) from September 1 , 2012 to December 31 , 2012 . The assignment of patients [ n = 177 , average age 69 . 4 years , 98 women ( 55.4 % ) and 79 men ( 44.6 % ) ] was r and om and blind in this placebo-controlled study . Patients were distributed into subgroups according to the method of treatment as follows : group А1 : n = 57 , trospium 30 mg/day + solifenacin 10 mg/day ; group А2 : n = 61 , trospium 15 mg/day + solifenacin 5 mg/day ; group А3 : n = 59 , placebo . All patients underwent a urodynamic examination in accordance with international st and ards before and 2 months after treatment . ICIQ-SF question naires recommended by the International Continence Society ( ICS ) and bladder diaries were used to evaluate the clinical results . The clinical severity of the OAB symptoms and the effectiveness of the treatment were evaluated based on the frequency of episodes of incontinence ( EI ) per day . Three or fewer EI per day were considered moderate dysfunction of the lower urinary tract . Results : Groups of elderly patients with moderate symptoms of OAB who were treated with st and ard- and low-dose trospium and solifenacin demonstrated a significant increase in the median values of reflex volume , bladder capacity , and detrusor compliance and a decrease in the frequency of urination and urinary urgencies . The frequency of EI in both of the main groups decreased by almost 2-fold in comparison to the initial data and reached the following values : group А1 : 1.27 ( -1.08 ) , p ≤ 0.05 ; group A2 : 1.49 ( -1.18 ) , p ≤ 0.05 . The correlation with the decrease in the frequency of EI in these groups was r = 0.85 ( p ≤ 0.01 ) . The percentage of patients with a significant decrease ( EI ≥1.0 ) among those treated with st and ard- and low-dose trospium and solifenacin increased synchronously , prompting us to suppose the absence of a direct correlation between medicine dose and therapeutic effect for moderate OAB symptoms . Conclusion : The combination of low-dose trospium and solifenacin provides good clinical and urodynamic effects in elderly patients with moderate symptoms of OAB . Combination of these drugs in st and ard doses for such patients is excessive
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 .