Review: several non-pharmacological, pharmacological, and surgical treatments may be effective in urinary incontinence

Devices. 1 RCT in patients with urge incontinence reported that electrical stimulation was more effective than sham stimulation for cure (no incontinence episodes and no detrusor overactivity on cystometry) (number needed to treat [NNT] 5, CI 3 to 42) and improvement (reduction in frequency of incontinence by >50% or a cystometric bladder capacity increase >50 ml) (NNT 2, CI 1 to 4). Primary care clinics may have limited referral capacity for these types of educational services; women may have little or no health insurance to pay for them; and well educated women may weigh the risks and benefits of pelvic floor muscle exercises compared with drug or surgery interventions and decide that the incremental gain from the exercise will not change their improvement with drug or surgical therapy.