Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Research and Innovations (new projects / technology / innovations / service models)
Authors (including presenting author) :
Lo HY(1), Yeung YK(1), Ng SW(1), Yip HS(1), Law KM (1), Leung RWC(1), Brigitte Fung(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Physiotherapy Department, Kwong Wah Hospital
Introduction :
In Hong Kong, 49.1% of female was found to have urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor muscle reeducation is one of the conservative managements of urinary incontinence. Electrical stimulation can be one of the treatment adjuncts to reeducate the muscle. Traditionally, electrical stimulation with a vaginal probe was used. Since February 2023, electrical stimulation program with a non-invasive option using high induction therapy was established for incontinence patients in Kwong Wah Hospital.
Objectives :
To evaluate the effectiveness of non- invasive electro-magnetic stimulation treatment on stress and mixed urinary incontinence patient.
Methodology :
Incontinence patients were referred to the out-patient physiotherapy department. They attended an incontinence talk and individual physiotherapy sessions for assessment and education on pelvic floor muscle exercise and bladder training. High induction electrical stimulation (HIES) was offered to patients with weak pelvic floor muscle strength (≤ grade 2) with both stress and mixed urinary incontinence group. Eight sessions were offered on a weekly basis. Data analyzed were recorded before the first session and after the eighth session of electro-magnetic stimulation.
Result & Outcome :
Outcome measures: • Numeric Global Rating of Change Scale(NGRCS)-subjective improvement (0-10) • Frequency of incontinence (per month) • Pelvic floor muscle(PFM) strength -Oxford Scale (Grade 1-5) • International Questionnaire-short form(ICIQ-SF) Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test were used on the data. All the statistical analyses were performed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences with p≤0.05 deemed significant. Results: Fourteen cases underwent the program from February 2023 to December 2023. Twelve patients including ten patients with stress urinary incontinence and two patients with mixed urinary incontinence completed the program. Patient reported significant subjective improvement(NGRCS) 4 +/- 1.9 (p=0.002). Frequency of incontinence (per month) was significantly decreased from 21 +/- 22.2 to 8.08+/- 9.8(p=0.037). ICIQ-SF was significantly decreased from 10.83 +/- 3.3 to 8.25+/-2.8 (p=0.011). The PFM strength was significantly improved from 1.92 +/- 0.3 to 2.33+/- 0.5 (p=0.025). This non-invasive electro-magnetic stimulation program was found effective to improve quality of life and continence condition of incontinence patients.
