Objective To determine the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of tolterodine in children with an overactive bladder. Patients and methods Thirty-three children (20 boys and 13 girls, aged 5-10 years) with an overactive bladder and symptoms of urgency, frequency and/or urge incontinence were enrolled in an open, dose-escalation study. Patients were treated with oral tolterodine 0.5 mg (n=11), 1 mg (n=10) or 2 mg (n=12) twice daily for 14 days. The primary safety endpoint was the change in residual urinary volume, as determined by ultrasonography. In addition, voiding diary variables (frequency and incontinence episodes) and pharmacokinetics were evaluated. Other safety endpoints included laboratory variables, electrocardiogram recordings and reported adverse events. Results There were no safety concerns in terms of the change in residual urinary volume for any of the three dosage groups; values were comparable with baseline after 2 weeks of treatment for all three dosages. Adverse events were reported by 20 patients (six on 0.5 mg, five on 1 mg, and nine on 2 mg). Most adverse events were not considered to be drug-related; of the 13 possibly related events, 10 occurred in those taking 2 mg. Headache was the most commonly reported adverse event. No serious adverse events were reported and there were no general safety concerns.There was an improvement in voiding diary variables in all treatment groups after 2 weeks of treatment, although the efficacy was greatest in those taking 1 mg and 2 mg. Pharmacokinetic findings were consistent with dose linearity over the range 0.5-2 mg. Conclusion The results support the use of 1 mg twice daily as the optimal dose of tolterodine for treating children aged 5-10 years with an overactive bladder. Keywords tolterodine, antimuscarinic agents, children, overactive bladder, dose-finding study IntroductionThe symptoms of an overactive bladder are urgency and frequency, with or without urge incontinence, caused by uncontrolled contractions of the detrusor muscle. As uncontrolled detrusor contractions are mediated by muscarinic receptor stimulation, antimuscarinic agents are the most frequently used medications for treating this condition [1]. Historically, antimuscarinic agents like oxybutynin have been effective for treating the overactive bladder but they are poorly tolerated because they are not selective for the bladder [2]. Side-effects on the parotid gland, CNS, gastrointestinal tract and on the eye limit their clinical usefulness [3]. Particularly frequent and troublesome is dry mouth, which has been shown to cause poor compliance and frequent discontinuation of treatment [1,[4][5][6].Tolterodine is a muscarinic receptor antagonist that has been shown to be effective for treating the overactive bladder [7][8][9]. The advantages of tolterodine are numerous and are ascribed to its selectivity for the bladder over other tissues and to its low lipophilicity. Differences between tolterodine and oxybutynin have been reported in several preclinical studies, including pharmacologi...
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