Pelvic floor electrostimulation in women with urinary incontinence and/or overactive bladder syndrome: a systematic review.

CONTEXT Electrostimulation (ES) is one of the techniques employed in conservative treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) and/or overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). Nevertheless, there is controversy in the scientific literature regarding its effectiveness as monotherapy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the scientific evidence on ES of the pelvic floor in women with UI and with/without OAB. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A systematic review of clinical trials was carried out in the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane, PEDro, Elsevier (Doyma) and EnFisPo (1980-2011). Quality of study registries was evaluated and information was obtained from those that presented the inclusion criteria established in the review. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS The 27 clinical trials were included in the review: 13 randomized controlled trials, 11 randomized non-controlled trials and 3 non-randomized trials. CONCLUSION Most of the clinical trials conclude that ES is effective in the treatment of UI and OAB in women. However, better methodological quality studies are needed to obtain a higher level of scientific evidence and to know the optimal current modality, type and parameters for each type of UI and OAB.