PROVIDENCE – A Women & Infants Hospital obstetrician and gynecologist will lead a $6.9 million research project to compare nonsurgical treatments for urgency urinary incontinence in women.
Dr. Vivian Sung, who specializes in reconstructive pelvic surgery and urogynecology, will oversee a research team spanning five sites nationwide.
Sung and her team will compare the effectiveness of the drug mirabegron versus Botox injections among women with UUI who have not seen improvement with other treatments.
Results from the study will help women suffering from UUI and their doctors choose the best course of action, Sung says.
Funding for the study was awarded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a nonprofit with a focus on evidence-based health care information to allow doctors, patients and caregivers to make better-informed choices.
Sung is planning to enroll 432 adult women from across the country in the study.
“We are honored and incredibly excited to be selected for this award, which will improve the quality of the care, counseling and information we provide to women with UUI,” Sung said. “In addition, through this support from PCORI, we have a chance to really engage our communities through experienced and specialized community engagement teams and liaisons at each site, with a strong focus on inclusion of underrepresented women and those who may encounter barriers to care for UUI.”
Initial treatments for urgency urinary incontinence, a common condition among women, include pelvic floor muscle therapy and oral medication. If neither of those are successful, doctors typically prescribe either mirabegron or Botox injections.
Both measures are common and have been shown to help patients with UUI, but the treatments have not been compared in a research study.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
