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Long‐term benefits of darifenacin treatment for patient quality of life: Results from a 2‐year extension study
Author(s) -
Dwyer Peter,
Kelleher Con,
Young Jay,
Haab François,
Lheritier Karine,
Ariely Rinat,
Ebinger Ursula
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
neurourology and urodynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1520-6777
pISSN - 0733-2467
DOI - 10.1002/nau.20620
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , extension (predicate logic) , term (time) , general surgery , nursing , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
Background and Aims Overactive bladder (OAB), a chronic condition requiring long‐term management, is associated with substantial impact on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). The short‐term benefits of antimuscarinic drug treatment are well known. Here we investigate the impact on HRQoL of long‐term treatment with the M 3 ‐selective muscarinic receptor antagonist darifenacin over 2 years. Methods HRQoL was assessed using the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) for patients with ‘wet’ OAB treated with darifenacin (7.5/15 mg once daily [o.d.]) in an open‐label 2‐year extension of two double‐blind feeder studies. Data were also analyzed for the subset of patients who continued darifenacin 7.5/15 mg o.d. directly into the extension study from the feeder studies (the ‘darifenacin continuation’ group), and also older patients (≥65 years) and men within this group. Results The total study population comprised 716 patients, of whom 303 patients formed the ‘darifenacin continuation’ group (including 85 patients ≥65 years and 41 men). Substantial impairment of HRQoL was noted in baseline KHQ assessments. KHQ scores improved significantly from feeder‐study baseline to extension study end/last visit in eight of the nine domains, with more than 50% of patients reporting improvements in seven of the nine domains. Despite fewer patients, significant improvements in KHQ scores were also observed in the subsets of older patients (≥65 years) and men. Almost two‐thirds of the ‘darifenacin continuation’ group were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with treatment. Conclusions Long‐term darifenacin treatment was associated with significant and clinically meaningful improvements in HRQoL for patients with ‘wet’ OAB over 2 years. Neurourol. Urodynam. 27:540–547, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.