Effects of oral estrogen and progestin on the lower urinary tract among female nursing home residents

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of oral estrogen/progestin on incontinence and related lower urinary tract conditions among female nursing home (NH) residents.

DESIGN

Randomized placebo-controlled trial.

SETTING

Five NHs.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-two incontinent female residents of average age 88.

MEASUREMENTS

Subjects were randomized to receive either oral estrogen (0.625 mg) combined with progesterone (2.5 mg) or placebo, daily for 6 months. Measures of incontinence severity, the clinical appearance of the vagina, vaginal and urethral cytology, and urine and vaginal cultures were made at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. In addition to active drug or placebo, all subjects received regular toileting assistance (prompted voiding) by trained research aides during 3-day data-collection periods to compensate for mobility and cognitive impairments.

RESULTS

At 3 and 6 months there were no significant differences between the groups in the severity of incontinence, the prevalence of bacteriuria, or the results of vaginal cultures. Several clinical findings associated with atrophic vaginitis improved more in the active than the placebo group and vaginal pH and vaginal and urethral cytology exhibited a partial estrogenic effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results must be interpreted with caution because of the size and the select nature of our subject sample. Up to 6 months of oral estrogen had only a partial estrogenic effect on vaginal and urethral epithelium and no clinical effects in this patient population. We believe that future studies of estrogen for urinary incontinence in frail NH residents should utilize a topical preparation and consider targeting urinary tract infection as an additional outcome measure.

Dually incontinent nursing home residents: clinical characteristics and treatment differences

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have described urinary and fecal incontinence in nursing homes and their separate effects on healthcare utilization. However, little is known about those who are incontinent of both.

DESIGN

Retrospective chart review.

SETTINGS

Twenty sites in three states

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 413 nursing home residents were categorized as having neither fecal nor urinary incontinence (C, n = 114), urinary incontinence only (UI, n = 53), fecal incontinence only (FI, n = 9), or were dually incontinent (DI, n = 237).

MEASUREMENTS

Charts were abstracted for sociodemographic information and health status information as well as utilization for the year before the date of abstraction. We then compared these characteristics across groups using ANOVA with pairwise comparisons and multiply adjusted regression.

RESULTS

Almost all patients with DI were cognitively and mobility impaired. However, there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to age and number of diagnoses. A diagnosis of stroke was also more common among those with DI compared with C. When examining healthcare utilization in multiply adjusted regression, dually incontinent residents received significantly fewer days of hospital care than those with UI.

CONCLUSIONS

Dual incontinence in NH residents is likely to have an important functional component. These residents seem to be treated less aggressively with respect to hospitalization compared with those with UI alone. The reasons for these differences need to be explored further.

Managed care and multilevel long-term care providers: reluctant partners

Managed care is reshaping our health care system, although long-term care is only beginning to feel its effects. We report on the managed care involvement of 492 multilevel, long-term care facilities (MLFs; including skilled nursing and assisted/independent living) nationally. Organizational structure and culture and especially environmental characteristics are associated with whether facilities have contracts with managed care organizations (MCOs), plan to have contracts, are only gathering information on MCOs, or intend to do nothing in the near future. Resource dependence theory best explains MCO contracting patterns with MLFs appearing to be responding more to survival than to growth.

Atrial natriuretic peptide levels in geriatric patients with nocturia and nursing home residents with nighttime incontinence

OBJECTIVES

To determine if nocturnal polyuria in geriatric patients with nocturia and nocturnal incontinence is associated with elevated plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels.

DESIGN

Case series.

SETTING

Four nursing homes and two board and care facilities.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-four nursing home residents and 26 board and care residents with a mean age of 86.

MEASUREMENTS

Daytime (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and nighttime (7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) urine volumes of incontinent nursing home residents were measured over 3 days and 3 nights by reweighing preweighed adults diapers and toileting inserts emptied by research staff for the board and care group. Blood was drawn in the early morning (5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.) before subjects arose and in the evening after an hour of lying in bed (8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.), and plasma ANP levels were determined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS

Forty-nine (61%) of the subjects had nocturnal polyuria as defined by night/total urine volume ratios > or = 50%. There was no significant difference between those with night/total ratios > or = 50% versus < 50% in plasma levels of ANP in the early morning (44.2+/-33.3, median 35.7 pg/mL vs 40.9+/-39.2, median 28.5; P = .36 by Mann Whitney U) or in the evening (43.4+/-28.8, median 36.4 pg/mL vs 49.6+/-53.1, median 34.4; P = .58). Nor was there any significant correlation between night/total urine volume ratio and morning or evening ANP levels (r = .01, P = .96 and r = .23, P = .31, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

In this sample of geriatric patients with nocturia and nursing home residents with nighttime urinary incontinence, ANP levels were elevated, but increased nighttime urine production was not associated with higher levels. Because of the variability in ANP levels, our power to detect such an association was low, and we cannot draw any definitive conclusions. Although high plasma ANP levels are unlikely to be a primary cause of nocturia and nighttime incontinence, they may, when combined with other factors such as low antidiuretic hormone levels, sleep disorders, and low functional bladder capacity, contribute to these symptoms in some geriatric patients.

Effects of prompted voiding on fecal continence among nursing home residents

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of prompted voiding on fecal continence in nursing home residents.

DESIGN

Prospective, uncontrolled trial of prompted voiding for urinary incontinence.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred sixty-five nursing home residents who completed a 9 to 10-week trial.

MEASUREMENTS

Trained research aides performed physical checks for urinary and fecal incontinence hourly from 8 AM to 6 PM for 3 days (total of 33 checks) at baseline, for the last 3 days of a 1-week trial of prompted voiding, and after 9 to 10 weeks of prompted voiding.

RESULTS

After 9 to 10 weeks of prompted voiding, there was no significant change in the frequency of incontinent bowel movements per resident (1.1 [95% CI.83, 1.4] to .87 [95% CI.67, 1.1]; P = 0.140). There was a significant increase in the number of continent bowel movements per resident (.17 [95% CI.10, .24] to .62 [95% CI.45, .80]; P = .000). This increase occurred in residents whose urinary incontinence responded well to prompted voiding as well as those whose urinary incontinence did no respond. The percentage of bowel movements that were continent also increased significantly from 18% (95% CI 8,29) at baseline to 45% (95% CI 32,57) after 9 to 10 weeks of intervention (P = .000). In addition to these findings, we noted a marked increase in the total frequency of bowel movements after the first week of prompted voiding. This may have resulted from the relief of fecal impactions caused by the increased toileting, mobility, and fluid intake that occurred with prompted voiding.

CONCLUSION

Prompted voiding did not change the frequency of incontinent bowel movements significantly in this sample of nursing home residents. However, the number of continent bowel movements and the percentage of bowel movements that were continent did increase. Our data must be interpreted cautiously because our study was designed primarily as an intervention for urinary, not fecal, incontinence and the design was neither blinded nor controlled. Trials of systematic toileting schedules specifically directed at fecal incontinence, with attention to fecal impaction, diet, fluid intake and laxative use, should be conducted.

Accuracy of rapid urine screening tests among incontinent nursing home residents with asymptomatic bacteriuria

OBJECTIVE

To determine the accuracy of rapid urine screening tests in detecting bacteriuria among incontinent nursing home residents.

SETTING

Six nursing homes.

PARTICIPANTS

214 chronically incontinent, but otherwise asymptomatic, nursing home residents who were enrolled in a clinical intervention trial for urinary incontinence.

MEASUREMENTS

684 urine specimens were collected, the majority (76%) by a clean catch technique and the remainder by in-and-out catheterization. Each specimen underwent dipstick testing for nitrite and leukocyte esterase, a rapid, enzyme-based screening test for bacteriuria, and a quantitative urine culture using standard laboratory techniques.

RESULTS

No one screening test or combination of tests had adequate sensitivity and specificity for clinical purposes. However, using all three tests, the sensitivity increases to 97% in females and 92% in males when any one of the tests is positive, and the specificity increases to 95% in females and 97% in males when all three tests are negative. Among nursing home residents suspected of having a symptomatic urinary tract infection, the prevalence of bacteriuria is probably higher than in our study population (e.g., 60-70%, compared with 32%). At these prevalence rates, the positive predictive value of any of the three tests being positive is 93% and higher, and the negative predictive value of all three tests being negative is 80 to 90%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data must be interpreted cautiously because of the specimen collection methods, the definitions we used, and the fact that we studied a population who did not have symptoms of an acute urinary tract infection. In addition, we did not examine the absolute accuracy of the screening tests, but their accuracy as a clinician might use them in a nursing home. Despite these caveats, our data suggest that a combination of these screening tests could be useful in the initial assessment of nursing home residents for bacteriuria, and result in considerable cost savings. Studies are needed to replicate our findings among nursing home residents with symptomatic urinary tract infections.

The dark side of incontinence: nighttime incontinence in nursing home residents

OBJECTIVE

To describe the characteristics of nighttime urinary incontinence in a sample of nursing home (NH) residents.

DESIGN

Prospective descriptive study of a convenience sample of incontinent NH residents.

SETTING

Four NHs.

PARTICIPANTS

136 incontinent NH residents.

MEASUREMENTS

Frequency and volume of incontinent and continent voids for three 10-hour daytime and three 10-hour nighttime data collection periods.

RESULTS

The frequency of nighttime incontinence was the same as during the day, but the volume of nighttime incontinent voids and total nighttime volume were higher than during the day. There was substantial between- and within-subject variability in volumes, but the distribution of ratios of night/total volumes approximated a normal curve. Diuretic use was associated with relatively low nighttime volumes.

CONCLUSION

About one-quarter of the NH residents we studied produced substantially more urine at night than during the day. Several medical, behavioral, and environmental approaches should be considered for reducing the frequency and volume of nighttime incontinence in this population.