Electrical stimulation has been proved to be an effective treatment option in managing SUI in many studies. Although the mechanism of electrical stimulation in SUI is unclear, it has been suggested to facilitate pelvic floor muscle contraction by stimulating the efferent motor fibers of the pudendal nerve. This is assumed to induce pelvic floor muscle hypertrophy leading to the strengthening of the muscle contraction and increase urethral pressure. The electrical stimulation may also promote bladder relaxation by inhibiting the parasympathetic vesical motor neuron, which is assumed to be caused by the stimulation on the afferent fibers of the pudendal nerve. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the 12-week treatment with the Transperineal Pelvic Floor Electrical Stimulation (TPFES) system for females with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and its correlating factors.

A total of 22 females who complained of urinary incontinence and were diagnosed as SUI according to the urodynamic study were included in the study. All the patients received TPFES and were educated to use it daily and as often as possible for 4 weeks. The patients were asked to complete ‘International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Urinary Incontinence (ICIQ-UI)’ and ‘Overactive Bladder Symptom Score Questionnaire (OABSS)’ before and after applying TPFES for 12 weeks. Age, body mass index (BMI), maximum flow rate (Qmax), and postvoid residual (PVR) of each patient were also obtained.

The mean age and BMI of the patients were 61.14 ± 13.57 years and 25.07 ± 4.20 kg/m2, respectively. The mean total score of ICIQ-UI and OABSS were significantly improved after the use of TPFES for 12 weeks compared to the baseline (p = 0.007 and p = 0.012, respectively; Table 1). Other variables such as mean Qmax, and mean PVR did not show a significant difference before and after the use of TPFES (p = 0.515 and p = 0.237, respectively; Table 1). According to multiple regression analysis, age and Qmax were the factors that were significantly correlated to the improvement of the mean total ICIQ-UI score after the 12-week treatment with the TPFES system (p = 0.013 and p = 0.004, respectively, Table 2).

The 12-week treatment with the TPFES system can improve SUI as well as the storage symptoms. Also, a younger female with greater Qmax is more likely to respond to the TPFES treatment.

The 12-week treatment with the TPFES system has the potential to become a supplementary option in managing females with SUI.