Combined Behavioral and Drug Treatment of Overactive Bladder in Men

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a very common, distressing condition that manifests as bothersome symptoms of urgency, frequent urination, urge incontinence, and nocturia, and impacts the lives of millions of men. OAB symptoms are most often treated with pharmacologic therapies (alpha-blocking agents and/or antimuscarinic agents) or behavioral treatments. Although drug therapies (even combined drug therapies) and behavioral treatments reduce OAB symptoms, few patients are completely cured with either treatment alone. Therefore, there is a need to improve interventions for this common problem. The primary purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of combining behavioral treatment and drug therapy as a way to improve outcomes in the treatment of OAB symptoms in men. This is a 3-site, 2-stage, 3-arm randomized clinical trial of behavioral treatment, drug therapy, and combined drug + behavioral therapy for men with OAB, to examine the efficacy of combined therapy and whether it yields higher success rates than either therapy alone. 204 men with OAB were enrolled and randomized to 1) drug therapy alone followed by combined therapy, 2) behavioral treatment alone followed by combined therapy, or 3) combined therapy as initial treatment.