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Effects of urine alkalinization with sodium bicarbonate orally on lower urinary tract symptoms in female patients: a pilot study

International Urogynecology Journal volume 29, pages 1029–1033 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

In this study, we planned to explore the effects of sodium bicarbonate orally (NaHCO3) treatment on female patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) who have acidic urine pH values (<6).

Methods

NaHCO3 was given orally to 33 female patients for 4 weeks at a dose of 2 × 4 g/day. Laboratory values, bladder diary, the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition Score (PPBC), Patient Perception of Intensity of Urgency Scale (PPIUS), Overactive Bladder–Validated 8-question Awareness tool (OAB-V8), Pelvic Pain and Urgency & Frequency Patient Symptom Scale tests (PUFSS), and the King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ) scores before and after treatment were compared.

Results

A significant increase was detected in urine pH values measured after treatment (5.31 ± 0.52 to 7.2 ± 0.66, p < 0.001), but not in blood pH values (7.369 ± 0.33 to 7.384 ± 0.28, p = 0.14). After treatment, a significant decrease was detected in daily frequency, nocturia, urgency, and urge incontinence prevalence (p < 0.001,p = 0.003, p < 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively) and PPBC, PPIUS, PUFSS, and OAB-V8 symptom scores (p = 0.004, p = 0.002, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). A significant decrease was detected in all KHQ subunit scores.

Conclusion

Urine alkalinization with NaHCO3 orally in female patients with LUTS and acidic urine pH has a significant level of positive effects on symptoms and symptom scores. Our results show that this new treatment modality—which is inexpensive, easy to use, and has a low side-effect profile is effective in this chronic patient group.

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Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Meram Medical Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, 42080, Konya, Turkey

    Mehmet Giray Sönmez, Yunus Emre Göğer, Gökhan Ecer, Ahmet Atıcı, Mehmet Serkan Özkent & Ahmet Öztürk

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  1. Mehmet Giray Sönmez
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  2. Yunus Emre Göğer
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  3. Gökhan Ecer
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  4. Ahmet Atıcı
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  5. Mehmet Serkan Özkent
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehmet Giray Sönmez.

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Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Consent was received from Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine ethics committee before the study (No: 2017/981).

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Sönmez, M.G., Göğer, Y.E., Ecer, G. et al. Effects of urine alkalinization with sodium bicarbonate orally on lower urinary tract symptoms in female patients: a pilot study. Int Urogynecol J 29, 1029–1033 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-017-3492-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-017-3492-3

Keywords

  • Urine alkalinization
  • Sodium bicarbonate orally
  • Lower urinary tract symptoms
  • Urine pH