Combination therapy studies of third-line treatments were rare and centered on medication with PTNS .
Combination therapy , with certain first , second , and third-line OAB therapies , appears to be efficacious .
AIMS Overactive bladder ( OAB ) affects over 17 % of the population and significantly effect the health-related quality of life .
The treatments for OAB include first line ( lifestyle modification , pelvic floor muscle training ) , second line ( anticholinergic or beta-3 agonist medications ) , and third line therapies ( intradetrusor botulinum toxin injection , sacral neurostimulation [ SNM ] , or percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation [ PTNS ] ) .
For those with urinary incontinence secondary to OAB , complete continence is the goal of therapy , though cure rates are only 5 % to 40 % .
The use of combination therapies can be employed in refractory OAB , however , the efficacy of pooled modalities is relatively unknown .
Our objective was to determine the volume of data supporting combination therapy in treating OAB .
Combined behavioral and drug therapy for urge incontinence in older women.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combining behavioral treatment and drug treatment for  urge incontinence in community-dwelling older women . DESIGN Modified crossover design ( extension of a r and omized clinical trial ) . Eligible subjects were stratified according to type and severity of incontinence and r and omized to behavioral treatment , drug treatment , or a control condition ( placebo ) .  Subjects not totally continent or not satisfied after 8 weeks of a single treatment were offered the opportunity to cross over into combined therapy . SETTING A university-based outpatient geriatric medicine clinic . PARTICIPANTS Subjects in the clinical trial were 197 ambulatory , nondemented , community-dwelling women ( age 55 years or older ) with persistent urge urinary incontinence . Thirty-five subjects participated in combined treatment . INTERVENTION One group of subjects received four sessions ( over 8 weeks ) of biofeedback-assisted behavioral training followed by 8 weeks of behavioral training combined with drug therapy ( oxybutynin chloride individually titrated from 2.5 mg to 15 mg daily ) . The second group received drug therapy first , followed by 8 weeks of drug therapy combined with behavioral training . MEASUREMENTS Bladder diaries completed by subjects before and after each treatment phase were used to calculate change in the frequency of incontinent episodes . RESULTS Eight subjects ( 12.7 % ) crossed from behavioral treatment alone to combined behavioral and drug therapy . Additional benefit was seen in improvement from a mean 57.5 % reduction of incontinence with single therapy to a mean 88.5 % reduction of incontinence with combined therapy ( P = .034 ) . Twenty-seven subjects ( 41.5 % ) crossed from drug therapy alone to combined drug and behavioral treatment . They also showed additional improvement , from a mean 72.7 % reduction of incontinence with single therapy to a mean 84.3 % reduction of incontinence with combined therapy ( P = .001 ) . CONCLUSIONS This study shows that combining drug and behavioral therapy in a stepped program can produce added benefit for patients with urge incontinence
Combination therapy studies of third-line treatments were rare and centered on medication with PTNS .
Combination therapy , with certain first , second , and third-line OAB therapies , appears to be efficacious .
AIMS Overactive bladder ( OAB ) affects over 17 % of the population and significantly effect the health-related quality of life .
The treatments for OAB include first line ( lifestyle modification , pelvic floor muscle training ) , second line ( anticholinergic or beta-3 agonist medications ) , and third line therapies ( intradetrusor botulinum toxin injection , sacral neurostimulation [ SNM ] , or percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation [ PTNS ] ) .
For those with urinary incontinence secondary to OAB , complete continence is the goal of therapy , though cure rates are only 5 % to 40 % .
The use of combination therapies can be employed in refractory OAB , however , the efficacy of pooled modalities is relatively unknown .
Our objective was to determine the volume of data supporting combination therapy in treating OAB .