Early continence after ileal neobladder: objective data from inpatient rehabilitation

To evaluate early continence of patients who underwent inpatient rehabilitation after radical cystectomy (RC) and orthotopic bladder substitution (ONB).

We conducted a retrospective analysis on the data of 283 patients who underwent a three weeks inpatient rehabilitation after RC and ONB for bladder cancer between January 2016 and July 2017. All patients were treated with a special multimodal continence therapy. The continence status was evaluated by measuring urine loss by a 24-h pad test and urine volume on uroflowmetry at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of inpatient rehabilitation. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of urine loss.

Median patient age was 63 years. NS was documented for 142 patients (50.2%). Median urine loss decreased significantly (p < 0.001) in the 24-h pad test, from 442 gm at T1 (median 29 days after surgery) to 88 gm at T2 (median 50 days after surgery). Urine volume increased significantly (p < 0.001) from a median of 78 ml at T1 to a median of 157 ml at T2. Age (p = 0.002), diabetes (p = 0.031), obesity (p = 0.003), and nerve sparing (p = 0.011) were identified as independent predictors for urine loss at the end of inpatient rehabilitation.

Continence improved significantly during the three weeks of inpatient rehabilitation. Younger age, the absence of diabetes or obesity, and NS resulted in better continence in the early postoperative period after ONB.