About Incontinence - Treatment / Management Options - Botulinum Toxin Injections
Medical Reviewer: Catherine DuBeau, M.D.
Botulinum toxin, often used in cosmetic procedures, is a new treatment for severe urge incontinence that has not responded to medical therapy. In this treatment, botulinum toxin is injected directly into the bladder muscle, relaxing it and allowing the bladder to fill with more urine before the urge to urinate strikes. It has been found that after botulinum toxin injections some persons are unable to pass urine at all. Therefore, all persons undergoing this treatment must be prepared to use an intermittent catheter to empty their bladder if this side effect occurs.
BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA) bladder injections were approved by the FDA in 2011 for urinary incontinence due to detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition in adults (18 and over) who have an inadequate response to, or are intolerant of, anticholinergic medication. It has not been approved for any other condition at this time.
Catherine E. DuBeau, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Geriatrics at the University of Chicago . She has been actively engaged in teaching, management, and research regarding urinary incontinence in older persons for nearly 15 years. Her research focuses on quality of life impact and patient-centered outcomes. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on urinary incontinence and benign prostate disease in such publications as the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Journal of Urology, American Geriatric Society (AGS) Geriatric Review Syllabus, Cassell et al's Geriatric Medicine, Oxford Textbook of Geriatric Medicine, the on-line textbook UpToDate, and Chapple Multidisciplinary Management of Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. She was a member of the Urinary Incontinence Technical Subgroup of the National Committee for Quality Assurance that developed the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDISâ) regarding urinary incontinence, and chaired the Evaluation Committee for developing the National Association for Continence (NAFC) Blueprint for Continence Care in Assisted Living. Dr. DuBeau most recently co-chaired the Frail Elderly Committee for the 2004 3rd International Consultation on Incontinence. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and in 2004 was awarded the AGS/NAFC Continence Care Champion Award. She is a dedicated teacher and lectures nationally and internationally on incontinence.
Page last modified 1 December 2011