Assessment of subjective outcomes in women after treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms

Authors

  • Shruthi Shivashankar Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  • N. V. Manjula Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20213459

Keywords:

King’s health questionnaire, LUTS, Quality of life, Subjective outcomes, Incontinence

Abstract

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are the most common symptoms in women at all age groups worldwide. Their overall prevalence among women is 67%, and incidence increases with age. To assess the impact of LUTS comprehensively, it is therefore necessary to measure both the level of an individual’s symptoms and the extent to which they impair their life. This is particularly important when making a decision as to whether an individual is likely to require or benefit from treatment, and in evaluating the effectiveness of such treatment. Aim and objectives were to assess the subjective outcomes in women following treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms using King’s health questionnaire (KHQ).

Methods: This study was carried out in 106 women presenting with LUTS at Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria from November 2017 to June 2019. KHQ was used to assess subjective outcomes pre-treatment and 3 months post-treatment. Statistical analysis was done using the statistical software namely IBM statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) statistics version 22.

Results: There was significant improvement in all the domains of KHQ indicating that patients had a better quality of life (QoL) post treatment. The mean total KHQ score decreased from a maximum of 40.14 at the pre-treatment time point to a minimum of 12.25 at the post treatment time point. This change was statistically significant. 90.6% of the participants had subjective improvement following treatment of LUTS. 9.4% of the participants reported no improvement in quality of life QoL following treatment of LUTS.

Conclusions: This study shows the value of KHQ as an evaluation tool to determine the subjective outcome in women following treatment of LUTS. There was significant improvement in all the domains of KHQ between the two time points in our study indicating a better QoL following the treatment given with subjective improvement of 90.6%.

 

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Published

2021-08-26

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Original Research Articles