Pelvic floor muscle training delivered via telehealth to treat urinary and/or faecal incontinence after gynaecological cancer surgery: a single cohort feasibility study

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the feasibility and clinical outcomes of telehealth-delivered pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) for urinary incontinence (UI) and/or faecal incontinence (FI) after gynaecological cancer surgery.

Methods: In this pre-post cohort clinical trial, patients with incontinence after gynaecological cancer surgery underwent a 12-week physiotherapist-supervised telehealth-delivered PFMT program. The intervention involved seven videoconference sessions with real-time feedback from an intra-vaginal biofeedback device and a daily home PFMT program. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention, engagement and adherence rates. Clinical outcomes were assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention and a 3-month post-intervention using International Consultation on Incontinence questionnaires for UI (ICIQ-UI-SF) and Bowel function (ICIQ-B) and the intra-vaginal biofeedback device. Means and 95%CIs for all time points were analysed using bootstrapping methods.

Results: Of the 63 eligible patients, 39 (62%) consented to the study. Three participants did not complete baseline assessment and were not enrolled in the trial. Of the 36 participants who were enrolled, 32 (89%) received the intervention. Retention was 89% (n=32/36). The majority of participants (n=30, 94%) demonstrated high engagement, attending at least six videoconference sessions. Adherence to the daily PFMT program was moderate, with 24 participants (75%) completing five-to-seven PFMT sessions per week during the intervention. All clinical outcomes improved immediately post-intervention; however, the magnitude of these improvements was small.

Conclusion: Telehealth-delivered PFMT may be feasible to treat incontinence after gynaecological cancer surgery.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: ACTRN12621000880842)