[Geriatric urology -- incontinence in the elderly]

Urinary incontinence is a major problem in elderly patients. Severe underreporting of symptoms in combination with a reluctance of health professionals to ask about continence problems lead to a relevant illness burden. Individual psychological distress and reduction in self-perceived quality of life ending in social isolation cause significant subsequent morbidity. Therefore active case finding for continence-problems is an important obligation for health care providers, since effective pharmacological, non-pharmacological and surgical treatment-options are available. A combination of different therapeutic modalities often leads to an appreciable improvement of the symptoms, and sometimes a cure even in old patients. Therapeutic options and prognosis of different treatment approaches should be discussed in an unbiased manner with patients.