Predictors for overactive bladder symptoms after pelvic organ prolapse surgery

Purpose of review: To review the predictors for overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms after pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery.

Recent findings: In general, an improvement on OAB can be expected after POP surgery. There are few studies which study the predictors of OAB after POP surgery and most studies had a different perspective. Some studies made conclusions on the basis of multivariate analysis, in which all relevant factors were taken into account. On the basis of these studies, it seems that various factors influence the results on OAB symptoms after POP surgery. Predictors for improvement gave a confusing and sometimes contradicting results. The role of preoperative detrusor overactivity is unclear, improvement as well as persistence of OAB was found. Further, the detrusor opening pressure and maximum flow rate seem to play a role. The absence of bothersome OAB preoperatively was a further predictor for absence of postoperative symptoms. Further, it was found that the individual OAB symptoms had different predictors. All together, the results of the various studies are inconclusive. It is therefore at present essentially still impossible to reliably predict the presence of OAB after POP surgery.

Summary: More research is necessary on the predictors for OAB after POP surgery.