Aims: In this review we try to shed light on the following questions:. How frequently are symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) and is detrusor overactivity (DO) present in patients with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and is there a difference from women without POP? . Does the presence of OAB symptoms depend on the prolapsed compartment and/or stage of the prolapse? . What is the possible pathophysiology of OAB in POP? . Do OAB symptoms and DO change after conservative or surgical treatment of POP?Methods: We searched on Medline and Embase for relevant studies. We only included studies in which actual data about OAB symptoms were available. All data for prolapse surgery were without the results of concomitant stress urinary incontinence (SUI) surgery. Results: Community-and hospital-based studies showed that the prevalence of OAB symptoms was greater in patients with POP than without POP. No evidence was found for a relationship between the compartment or stage of the prolapse and the presence of OAB symptoms. All treatments for POP (surgery, pessaries) resulted in an improvement in OAB symptoms. It is unclear what predicts whether OAB symptoms disappear or not. When there is concomitant DO and POP, following POP surgery DO disappear in a proportion of the patients. Bladder outlet obstruction is likely to be the most important mechanism by which POP induces OAB symptoms and DO signs. However, several other mechanisms might also play a role. Conclusions: There are strong indications that there is a causal relationship between OAB and POP.

The psychological and HRQL consequences for OAB sufferers overlap with trajectories associated with chronic illness. However, because many sufferers avoid admitting to the condition and/or seeking treatment the psychological costs to them are even greater than with a diagnosed illness because the disruption remains unacknowledged and therefore unresolved.

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The conventional management of irritative bladder symptoms, namely urgency, urge incontinence, frequency and nocturia, with anticholinergic medication is limited by the side effects of treatment. Acupuncture is shown to be as effective in the management of irritative bladder symptoms as conventional anticholinergic therapy, with few side effects and a high degree of patient acceptability and compliance.