A Critical Appraisal of “Efficacy of an Assisted Low-Intensity Programme of Perioperative Pelvic Floor Muscle Training in Improving the Recovery of Continence after Radical Prostatectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial”

Abstract

For radical prostatectomy patients, urinary incontinence is a common occurrence after surgery. This appraisal analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the introduction, methods, results, and discussion of a research article that evaluated the efficacy of a pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback program on the recovery of continence. The article clearly defines the aim of the study and the need for research in this field. The authors successfully described the results of the study with appropriate outcomes measures. That being said, the authors failed to establish some of the basic terms analyzed in the study and lacked detail in the methods section. There is no mention of who is leading the monthly postoperative sessions nor what exactly occurs during them. Overall, the research study was well done, but the article lacks the detail needed for this intervention to be used by others and be generalized to other populations.