Drugs Showing Real-world Efficacy for Nocturia in Patients With Bladder Storage Symptoms

Nocturia is defined as the symptom that an individual has to disrupt their sleep at night, for one or several times, in order to void. Nocturia is a bothersome event that markedly reduces a patient's quality of life. The aim of the study was to elucidate which drugs, prescribed to reduce nocturia, show real-world efficacy in patients with bladder storage symptoms.

One hundred consecutive patients who visited the Fukuoka University Medical Center were evaluated between May and July 2022. Anticholinergic drugs, β₃ adrenoceptor agonists, α₁ blockers, desmopressin, and other medicines were prescribed for relieving nocturia. Desmopressin was used as second-line treatment of nocturia only in males with nocturnal polyuria. The association between each drug and actual decrease in nocturia was investigated using multivariate analysis.

The number of nocturia episodes was reduced in patients using anticholinergic drugs, β₃ adrenoceptor agonists, and desmopressin (-1.4±0.9, -1.3±0.9, -2.0 ±0.8 episodes/night, respectively). Multivariate analysis for the entire cohort showed that anticholinergic drugs and β₃ adrenoceptor agonists were associated with significantly decreased nocturia episodes (p=0.01 and p=0.04, respectively). In males, only desmopressin was associated with a significant decrease in nocturia (p=0.03), and combination therapy significantly decreased the number of nocturia episodes compared to monotherapy (p=0.001).

In a real-world clinical setting, anticholinergic drugs and β₃ adrenoceptor agonists were similarly effective in reducing nocturia. Administration of desmopressin combined with anticholinergic drugs and/or β₃ adrenoceptor agonists is the most effective method for reducing nocturia in male patients with both storage symptoms and nocturnal polyuria.