Cyclic Versus Continuous Sacral Neuromodulation for LUTS

June 26, 2026 updated by: David Sheyn, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

CYclic Versus Continuous Sacral Modulation for LowEr Urinary Tract Symptoms: a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial (CYCLE Trial)

This will be a prospective, randomized-controlled multi-site trial comparing cyclic versus continuous sacral neuromodulation (SNM) for OAB.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Overactive bladder (OAB) is characterized by urinary frequency, urgency, incontinence, and nocturia in the absence of other pathology. AUA guidelines recommend trial of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) for patients with refractory OAB who have failed treatment with behavioral modification and medication. SNM settings are typically selected based on discussion between the patient and device representative. There is a paucity of rigorous data assessing optimal SNM stimulation programming for symptomatic improvement.

This will be a prospective, randomized-controlled multi-site trial comparing cyclic versus continuous sacral neuromodulation (SNM) in patients undergoing SNM for OAB.

Patients > age 18 with a diagnosis of refractory OAB being scheduled for a trial of SNM (either stage I lead/temporary battery placement or office peripheral nerve evaluation) will be approached by study personnel during their clinic visit or by a phone call to determine if they are interested in participating in the programming study.

Patients interested in participating will provide written informed consent. After informed consent is obtained, a baseline evaluation will be performed. This includes history, 3-day voiding diary (# voiding episodes, # nocturia episodes, # urge incontinence episodes/24h), urinalysis, urine culture (if indicated), post void residuals, and symptom assessments using questionnaires.

Only those with successful trial and eligible/ interested in permanent SNM placement will participate in this trial. Randomization will occur after stage 2/ full permanent implantation when the neuromodulator is being programmed in the recovery room. Patients will be randomly assigned to either continuous stimulation or cyclic stimulation.

Patients will then be followed with clinical evaluation and questionnaires repeated at 1 month, 6 months, 12 months, 3 years, and 5 years post-op.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40202
        • University of Louisville
    • Ohio
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
        • University Hospitals
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44109
        • MetroHealth

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients 18 years of age or older
  • Female
  • English Speaking
  • Diagnosis of urinary urge incontinence or overactive bladder
  • Meet criteria for and are planning permanent SNM (ie. successful stage I or office PNE trial of SNM with 50% or more reduction in UUI episodes)
  • Willing and able to complete all study related items

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients less than 18 years of age
  • Unable to provide consent
  • Non-English speaking
  • Relevant neurologic diseases (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson Disease, myasthenia gravis, - - - Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, complete spinal cord injury)
  • Current or prior bladder malignancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Cyclic SNM
Programming of the SNM device will occur as per standard protocol in discussion between patient and SNM representative. The intervention will be to set the device to cycling stimulation program mode.
Device: Cyclic SNM
SNM cycling: 8 hours on, 16 hours off
Active Comparator: Continuous SNM
Programming of the SNM device will occur as per standard protocol in discussion between patient and SNM representative. The intervention will be to set the device to continuous stimulation programming (SNM is continuously stimulating without "off" periods)
Device: Continuous SNM
Continuous SNM: on continuously, no 'off' period

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in ICIQ-OAB-QoL Score
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months post-operatively
ICIQ-OABqol is a 28 question patient-completed survey evaluating quality of life (QoL) in patients with overactive bladder. Score ranges 25-160 points with greater value indicating increased impact on quality of life.
Baseline to 12 months post-operatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in ICIQ-OAB-QoL Score
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months post-operatively
ICIQ-OABqol is a 28 question patient-completed survey evaluating quality of life (QoL) in patients with overactive bladder. Score ranges 25-160 points with greater value indicating increased impact on quality of life
1 month, 6 months post-operatively
Change in OAB-q SF
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
OAB-q SF is a 19 question patient-completed survey evaluating symptom bother and quality of life in patients with overactive bladder. Scores range 3- 36, higher values indicating increased symptom severity
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS)
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
The Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) is a 4 question validated symptom assessment tool for patients with OAB and assesses number of episodes of frequency, nocturia, urgency, and urge incontinence. Scores range 0-15 with higher scores indicating higher severity.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Incontinence Impact Questionnaire SF (IIQ-7)
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Incontinence Impact Questionnaire SF (IIQ-7) is a 7-item validated questionnaire that assesses urinary symptoms, the symptom bother, and the impact the bother has on patients' quality of life using a 4-point bother scale. Scores range 0-100 (raw score multiplied by 33 1/3 to transform scale) with higher scores indicating higher bother
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Urinary Distress Inventory SF (UDI-6)
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Urinary Distress Inventory SF (UDI-6) is a 6 item validated questionnaire that assesses urinary symptoms, the symptom bother, and the impact the bother has on patients' quality of life using a 4-point bother scale. Scores 6 items, range 0-100 (raw score multiplied by 33 1/3 to transform scale) with higher scores indicating higher distress.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S)
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S) is a 1-item 4-point scale designed to assess for disease severity where 1 indicates "normal," 2 is "mild," 3 is "moderate," and 4 is "severe." Outcome measured is number of participants per group who reported disease is "severe" at each timepoint.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I)
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) is a 1-item scale designed to assess symptom improvement with answer choices: Very much better, Much better, A little better, No change, A little worse, Much worse, Very much worse. Outcome measure includes number of participants per group who reported "very much better" or "much better" at each timepoint
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Overactive Bladder Satisfaction of Treatment Questionnaire
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Overactive Bladder Satisfaction of Treatment Questionnaire (OAB-SAT-q) is an 11-item validated questionnaire that assesses patients' satisfaction with their OAB treatment within a clinical setting from baseline. Score range 0-100 with higher scores indicating greater treatment satisfaction
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Voiding Episodes Per Day
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patients will use 3 days bladder diaries to track voiding episodes per day, voiding episodes per night, pads per day, and urge incontinence episodes per day. Daily voiding frequency will be the voiding episodes per day averaged over 3 day bladder diary.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Voiding Episodes Per Night
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patients will use 3 day bladder diaries to track voiding episodes per day, voiding episodes per night, pads per day, and urge incontinence episodes. Voiding episodes per night will be voiding episodes per night averaged over 3 day bladder diary.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Pads Per Day
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patients will use 3 day bladder diaries to track voiding episodes per day, voiding episodes per night, pads per day, and urge incontinence episodes. Pads per day will be the pad count per day averaged over 3 day bladder diary.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Change in Urge Incontinence Episodes Per Day
Time Frame: 1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively
Patients will use 3 day bladder diaries to track voiding episodes per day, voiding episodes per night, pad count per day, and urge incontinence episodes per day. Urge incontinence episodes will be the urge incontinence episodes per day averaged over 3 day bladder diary.
1 month, 6 months, 12 months post-operatively

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Northwestern University
University of Louisville
Metro Health, Michigan

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: David Sheyn, MD, UH Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 12, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 12, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 6, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 6, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 14, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY20231521

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Only de-identified data will be shared with co-collaborators at Northwestern University (PI: Carol E. Bretschneider) and University of Louisville (PI: Ankita Gupta)

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be available during study recruitment and monitoring. When study has concluded, data will no longer be available.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Available to only (IRB approved) members of study team through secure RedCap

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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