Urinary incontinence

Abstract

Urinary incontinence, understood as any involuntary loss of urine, constitutes an important medical and social problem. It can be classified as stress urinary incontinence, urgent urinary incontinence or mixed urinary incontinence. The proportions of these three types of urinary incontinence are difficult to establish and vary notably between sources, but they might be about 40, 33 and 20% respectively. Its diagnosis requires a correct clinical history and physical exploration, together with some complementary explorations. The first therapeutic step consists of hygienic-dietary measures and behaviour modification techniques. Pharmacological treatment is specific for each type of urinary incontinence, using anticholinergics and inhibitors of serotonin reuptake. Finally, different surgical techniques have a role in cases where conservative treatments fail or when dealing with severe urinary incontinence.