Urgent ® PC
Non-drug, outpatient treatment for Overactive Bladder and Faecal Incontinence
What is Urgent PC?
The Urgent PC Neuromodulation System uses percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) to treat the Overactive Bladder symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency and urge incontinence. Urgent PC is also used to treat Faecal Incontinence.
The Urgent PC Neuromodulation System is a combination of a hand-held stimulator, thin needle electrode and a lead set. The stimulator generates a specific kind of electrical impulse that is delivered to the patient through the lead set. Urgent PC has been used by healthcare professionals since 2003.
>Read about NICE guidance for using PTNS in OAB treatment
>Read about NICE guidance for using PTNS in Faecal Incontinence treatment
How does Urgent PC work?
The Urgent PC system delivers a specific type of neuromodulation called percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS). During treatment, a small, slim needle electrode is inserted near your ankle. The needle electrode is then connected to the battery-powered stimulator. During your 30-minute treatment, mild impulses from the stimulator travel through the needle electrode, along your leg and to the nerves in your pelvis that control bladder and bowel function. This process is also referred to as neuromodulation.
What will I feel with Urgent PC therapy?
Because patients may experience the sensation of the Urgent PC therapy in different ways, it's difficult to say what the treatment would feel like to you. Patients often describe the sensation as "tingling," or "pulsating." Treatment is typically well-tolerated by patients. Urgent PC offers many different levels of stimulation, so your clinician will be able to adjust treatment to suit you as well as address any discomfort that you might experience during treatment.
How often will I need Urgent PC treatments?
You will receive an initial series of 12 treatments scheduled about a week apart. After the initial 12 treatments, your physician will work with you to determine if occasional treatments are needed to maintain your results. The time between follow-up treatments can range from every few weeks to every few months.
How effective is Urgent PC treatment?
60-80% of patients see a satisfactory improvement in their symptoms. Urgent PC may work, even if other treatments, such as medications, have failed.
How soon will I see results with Urgent PC?
Because Urgent PC gently modifies the signals to achieve bladder and bowel control, it usually takes 5-7 weeks for symptoms to change. However, patients respond at different rates. In a review of about 100 OAB patients who had success with Urgent PC, symptoms improved anywhere between 2-12 weeks. 1
There is no way to anticipate who will respond earlier, later or not at all. That's why it is important to receive the 12 recommended treatments before you and your physician evaluate whether this therapy is an appropriate and effective choice for you.
Are there patients who should not be treated with Urgent PC?
Yes, these include: patients with pacemakers or implantable defibrillators, patients prone to excessive bleeding, patients with nerve damage that could impact either percutaneous tibial nerve or pelvic floor function and patients who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the duration of the treatment.
What are the risks associated with Urgent PC?
The risks associated with Urgent PC therapy are low. Most common side-effects are temporary and include mild pain or skin inflammation at or near the stimulation site.
1. Leong, F., McLennan, M.T., Barr, S.A., & Steele, A.C. (2011). Posterior tibial nerve stimulation in patients who have failed anticholinergic therapy: efficacy and time to response.Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg 17:2, 74-75.
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