Does traditional pharmacotherapy augment behavioral modification in the treatment of nocturia?

To assess the efficacy of traditional first-line non-antidiuretic pharmacotherapy for nocturia in the real-world outpatient urology setting.

We retrospectively analyzed voiding diaries from adult men treated for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) at an outpatient urology clinic to identify pairs of voiding diaries with ≥1 nocturnal void at baseline and a corresponding follow-up diary completed within 1 year. We compared the odds of nocturia improvement (decrease of ≥1 nocturnal void) in patients started on LUTS pharmacotherapy versus behavioral modification alone.

Two hundred and thirteen diary pairs from 93 patients were included. Fifty-seven diary pairs were identified from patients prescribed at least one LUTS drug on the initial visit and 156 diary pairs were identified from patients receiving behavioral modification alone. All standard voiding diary parameters were assessed, and only maximum voided volume differed at baseline (240 ml [interquartile range: 200-330 ml] vs. 280 ml [200-400 ml] with and without pharmacotherapy, respectively, p = 0.04). The odds of nocturia improvement did not significantly differ between pharmacotherapy and behavioral modification treatment groups (crude odds ratio [OR]: 1.16 [95% confidence interval: 0.63-2.16], p = 0.63; maximum voided volume [MVV]-adjusted OR: 1.19 [0.63-2.22], p = 0.59). In contrast, improvement in 24-h urinary frequency was more likely with pharmacotherapy versus behavioral modification alone (crude OR: 2.36 [1.22-4.56], p = 0.01; MVV-adjusted OR: 2.05 [1.05-4.01], p = 0.04). Results were consistent on subgroup analyses restricted to first diary pairs from each patient.

Despite improvement in 24-h voiding frequency, there was no evidence that adjunctive pharmacotherapy provided a benefit in the treatment of nocturia in men receiving behavioral counseling.