Comparative Effectiveness of Anticholinergic Agents for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

BACKGROUND: Limited data from short-term clinical trials suggest efficacy advantages of solifenacin and fesoterodine over other anticholinergic agents in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To (a) determine the real-world comparative effectiveness of newer anticholinergic agents for lower urinary tract symptoms, as assessed by 1-year persistence, and (b) identify patient factors independently associated with persistence. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of U.S. veterans initiating newer anticholinergic therapy between October 2007 and August 2015. Multiple log-binomial regression was used to contrast 1-year persistence rates across anticholinergic agents while adjusting for measured confounders. Persistence was selected as a measure of effectiveness because nonpersistence is a common pathway encompassing inefficacy and intolerability, particularly in symptom-driven conditions. RESULTS: A total of 26,775 patients were included, of which 10,386 (38.8%) persisted with anticholinergic therapy at 1 year. Using long-acting tolterodine as the reference agent, superior persistence rates were observed for solifenacin (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03-1.13) and fesoterodine (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.09-1.43), and a lower rate for short-acting tolterodine (RR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.94). Patient factors associated with higher persistence rates included older age, male sex, and comorbidities such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with clinical trial reports, we found evidence for superior effectiveness of solifenacin and fesoterodine relative to other anti-cholinergics and for long-acting formulations over short-acting formulations.