Washington: Turns out, men can tolerate stress urinary incontinence for more than two years before seeking medical help.
However, men who have had prostate cancer treatments involving surgery (prostatectomies), are more likely to develop the condition, a study has revealed.
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when physical activity or exertion, a cough, heavy lifting, exercise, causes one's bladder to leak.
As part of the study, conducted by UT Southwestern Medical Centre, a standing cough test was performed, in which a patient coughed while the doctor watched him for any accidental urine release, as a routine part of their male patients' physicals.
"Our goal is to spread the word that effective and safe treatments exist for men with stress urinary incontinence, but also to facilitate an immediate and accurate diagnosis among stress urinary incontinence patients," said Dr. Joceline Fuchs, the first author of the study.
It was also recorded that one-third of the male participants put up with it for more than five years, making it important for doctors to check for this problem.
Most recovery of urinary control occurs within the first 12 months after a prostatectomy, the study notes. Beyond the first year, improvement is unlikely. Care for such patients includes urologist-directed treatment plans that focus on non-cancer problems such as incontinence.
Some treatment delay may also be tied to patient reluctance to undergo more surgery or due to limited geographic access to appropriate specialists.
However, patient satisfaction and quality of life improvement measures for those who do undergo anti-incontinence surgery are high, ranging from 73 to 90 percent.
The findings are published in the Journal of Urology.
