Surgical Treatment of Recurrent Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

ContextRecurrent stress urinary incontinence (R-SUI) represents a management dilemma; however, only a limited number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed the various surgical procedures used for its treatment.ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness and complications of various surgical procedures for the treatment of female R-SUI.Evidence acquisitionA prospective peer-reviewed protocol was prepared a priori. A systematic literature review of all published RCTs comparing surgical procedures for treatment of R-SUI was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis statement. Data were analysed using RevMan 5.Evidence synthesisWe conducted a literature search from 1945 to February 2013. Data were available for a total of 350 women in 10 RCTs with a mean follow-up of 18.1 mo. Meta-analysis was possible for the comparison of retropubic tension-free vaginal tape (RP-TVT) versus transobturator tension-free vaginal tape (TO-TVT) in five RCTs (n = 135). There was no statistically significant difference between RP-TVT and TO-TVT in the patient-reported improvement (odds ratio [OR]: 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41–1.69) or objective cure/improvement (OR: 1.75; 95% CI, 0.86–3.54). One RCT showed a trend towards a higher rate of patient-reported and objective cure/improvement with the inside-out TO-TVT compared with the outside-in; however, it was not statistically significant (OR: 3.00; 95% CI, 0.85–10.57, and OR: 3.32; 95% CI, 0.96–11.41, respectively). There was no significant difference between Burch colposuspension and RP-TVT (one RCT) in patient-reported improvement (OR: 0.33; 95% CI, 0.01–8.57) or objective cure/improvement (OR: 0.52; 95% CI, 0.13–2.05).ConclusionsThis meta-analysis shows no evidence of a significant difference in patient-reported and objective cure/improvement rates between RP-TVT and TO-TVT in the surgical treatment of women with R-SUI. However, due to the relatively low number of patients, the analysis might be underpowered. This review highlights the poor level of evidence in this field and the need for well-designed clinical trials to address this important clinical dilemma.