Lower urinary tract symptoms in women with multiple sclerosis: Part 1

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects about 85,000 people in the UK, and is the commonest progressive neurological disease affecting young people (Compston and Coles, 2002). Bladder dysfunction can be found in up to 75% of patients with MS (DasGupta and Fowler, 2003). In a study by Hemmett et al (2004), 87% of people with MS reported bladder symptoms and 70% felt that they had a moderate to high adverse effect on their quality of life. This article, the first in a two-part series, examines how MS can affect normal bladder function, looking at what symptoms patients may present with. It also provides an overview of how nurses can assess and diagnose these bladder problems. The conservative, pharmacological and surgical interventions for the management of lower urinary tract symptoms will be discussed in the second part of this series.