Improving the health care of geriatric patients: Management of urinary incontinence: a position paper

A multidisciplinary German expert group met in 2012 to discuss the current status and prospects of health care of geriatric patients with urinary incontinence in Germany. The purpose of this position paper is to raise awareness among health care providers for the challenges associated with adequate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie 2013-07, Vol.46 (5), p.456-464
Main Authors: Becher, K., Oelke, M., Grass-Kapanke, B., Flohr, J., Mueller, E.A., Papenkordt, U., Schulte-Frei, B., Steinwachs, K.-C., Süss, S., Wehling, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Behavior Therapy - methods
Cholinergic Antagonists - therapeutic use
Female
Frail Elderly
Geriatric Assessment - methods
Geriatrics/Gerontology
Germany
Humans
Internal Medicine
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Quality Improvement - standards
Social Sciences
Urinary Incontinence - diagnosis
Urinary Incontinence - therapy
Urology - standards
Übersichten
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A multidisciplinary German expert group met in 2012 to discuss the current status and prospects of health care of geriatric patients with urinary incontinence in Germany. The purpose of this position paper is to raise awareness among health care providers for the challenges associated with adequate management of urinary incontinence in frail elderly. The experts agree that a multidisciplinary collaboration is essential for the successful treatment of urinary incontinence symptoms which are often associated with loss of autonomy and social isolation. For most geriatric patients, usually the general practitioner is the first contact when seeking help. Hence, the general practitioner plays a crucial role in the coordination of diagnosis and treatment. The involved health care providers should have adequate education and training in their respective disciplines and should be networked allowing quick turnaround times. Non-pharmacological treatments (e.g. behavioural interventions) should have been tried before any pharmacotherapy is initiated. If pharmacological treatment of urinary incontinence involves the use of anticholinergic agents, cognitive performance should be monitored regularly. If indicated, anticholinergic agents with a documented efficacy and safety profile, explicitly assessed in the elderly population, should be preferred.
ISSN:0948-6704
1435-1269
DOI:10.1007/s00391-013-0491-y