Screening for depression and anxiety in patients with storage or voiding dysfunction: A retrospective cohort study predicting outcome of sacral neuromodulation

Aims It has been reported that somatic treatment in patients with affective symptoms has a higher risk of failure. The aim was to investigate whether affective symptoms could predict the outcome of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). MethodsAll patients that underwent a SNM evaluation between 2006 and 2013 and filled out a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS) before treatment, were included. Chi-square analysis and bivariate logistic regression were used to assess associations and predictive value. ResultsEighty-six patients were included, 65 females and 21 males. Most patients, 66, had overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). The remaining 20 patients suffered from non-obstructive urinary retention (NOR). Thirty-nine OAB patients and 17 NOR patients, had a normal total HADS score before treatment. Significantly more patients showed abnormal HADS-D (P=0.047) and HADS-A (P=0.015) scores in the OAB group compared to the NOR group. Success of SNM could not be predicted by the HADS score P=0.464 (after 1 year P=0.446). Subsequent analysis revealed that an abnormal HADS score was not related to the occurrence of SNM adverse events. ConclusionsThe present study did not reveal a significant relationship between an abnormal HADS score and failure of the SNM test period in a mixed group of OAB and NOR patients. However, differences between OAB and NOR patients concerning affective symptoms were present. It is known that psychological factors play a role in the severity of LUTS, but they may not predict SNM outcome. Neurourol. Urodynam. 35:1011-1016, 2016.