A Novel Wearable Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (TTNS) Device in the Treatment of Patients With Overactive Bladder (OAB) and Nocturia

June 3, 2026 updated by: Qilu Hospital of Shandong University

A Novel Wearable Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (TTNS) Device Combined With Behavioral Therapy (BT) Versus Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Patients With Overactive Bladder (OAB) and Nocturia: a Prospective, Randomized Controlled Study

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a syndrome with urgency as the main symptom, usually accompanied by frequent urination, nocturia, and sometimes urge urinary incontinence. Globally, the prevalence of OAB in the general population has been reported to be about 20%. Nocturia was defined as the patient waking up at least once during the night to urinate. Among lower urinary tract symptoms, nocturia can significantly affect daily life and quality of life. Reported causes of nocturia include nocturnal polyuria, sleep disorders, circadian rhythm disruption (e.g., circadian rhythm sleep disorders), and reduced bladder capacity. Because overactive bladder (OAB) may be associated with reduced bladder capacity, anticholinergic agents are used as standard therapy in the management of nocturia associated with OAB. However, anticholinergic medications are associated with poor adherence, such as inadequate efficacy and adverse effects (e.g., dry mouth, constipation, and cognitive impairment). Therefore, it is imperative to find alternative therapies for anticholinergic drugs.

Previous studies have shown that transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) can also significantly improve lower urinary tract symptoms, such as frequency, urgency, incontinence, and nocturia, and is also one of the options for the treatment of OAB. A previous study also demonstrated its improvement in sleep quality in women with nocturia. However, the efficacy of tibial nerve stimulation in the treatment of active bladder with nocturia is still a blank, and further studies are needed.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

In strict accordance with the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria, appropriate research participants were screened to participate in this clinical study. At least 80 cases were completed, with 40 cases in the experimental group and 40 cases in the control group.

Participants in group A were treated with A new wearable transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) device combined with behavioral therapy (BT), while participants in group B were treated with behavioral therapy alone. Participants were followed up at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after enrollment. The improvement of voiding symptoms (frequent urination, urgency, urge incontinence, etc.) and sleep quality were analyzed at different stages.

Treatment assignments: Group A, participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.

Baseline data of all participants were collected at the time of enrollment: (1) basic information of patients, including age, gender, height, weight, history of smoking and alcohol, lower urinary tract dysfunction symptoms, previous treatment of OAB and nocturia, and medication history; (2) Pittsburgh sleep Quality index (PSQI); (3) standardized 72-hour voiding diary, sleep onset and awakening time, voiding volume and time, fluid intake and time, and incontinence time; (4) previous treatment of OAB and nocturia, and list of current drugs; (5) Overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS); (6) Nocturia quality of life (NQOL) score.

Study participants were followed up or reexamined at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after enrollment. Data on: (1) Pittsburgh sleep Quality Index (PSQI); (2) Standardized 72-hour voiding diary, sleep onset and awakening time, voiding volume and time, fluid intake and time, and incontinence time; (3) list of currently used drugs; (4) Overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS); (5) Nocturia quality of life (NQOL) score; (6) Urinary tract infection and adverse events.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • China
    • Shandong
      • Jinan, Shandong, China
        • Qilu Hospital of Shandong University
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. age ≥20 years old, ≤80 years old, female;
  2. patients with overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms for more than 8 weeks; The inclusion criteria were as follows: voiding frequency ≥8 times in 24 hours, urgency attack ≥1 time in 24 hours, nocturnal voiding ≥2 times (OABSS score ≥6 points), and nocturnal polyuria index (NPi) ≤0.33.
  3. the patient's physical condition is stable and can be treated at home;
  4. All participants volunteered to participate in the study and provided written informed consent before the study began.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Residual urine volume ≥100 mL;
  2. difficulty walking;
  3. urethral stricture;
  4. bladder stones;
  5. bladder cancer;
  6. urinary tract infection;
  7. pregnant, lactating women, women of childbearing age who plan to become pregnant during the study or who do not use safe contraception;
  8. pelvic organ prolapse;
  9. neuropsychiatric disorders (including cerebrovascular diseases) associated with neurogenic bladder;
  10. taking medications for urinary system diseases within 2 weeks before enrollment;
  11. patients with mental and cognitive impairment who are unable to cooperate with treatment;
  12. other conditions considered by the investigator to be inappropriate for study participation.

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: TTNS+BT (A)

The selected study participants were randomly divided into group A and group B with a ratio of 1:1. Participants in group A were treated with A new wearable transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) device combined with behavioral therapy (BT), while participants in group B were treated with behavioral therapy alone. Participants were followed up at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after enrollment. The improvement of voiding symptoms (frequent urination, urgency, urge incontinence, etc.) and sleep quality were analyzed at different stages.

Treatment assignments: Group A, participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.
Device: A new wearable transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) device
Group A: participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.
Behavioral: behavioral therapy
Treatment assignments: Group A, participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.
Experimental: BT (B)

The selected study participants were randomly divided into group A and group B with a ratio of 1:1. Participants in group A were treated with A new wearable transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) device combined with behavioral therapy (BT), while participants in group B were treated with behavioral therapy alone. Participants were followed up at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after enrollment. The improvement of voiding symptoms (frequent urination, urgency, urge incontinence, etc.) and sleep quality were analyzed at different stages.

Treatment assignments: Group A, participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.
Behavioral: behavioral therapy
Treatment assignments: Group A, participants received tibial nerve stimulation three times a week (30 minutes each time) in combination with daily behavioral therapy. Group B: The study participants received daily behavioral therapy, and the improvement of symptoms was observed in the study participants at all stages.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Standardized 72-hour voiding diary
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Standardized 72-hour voiding diary, record the frequency of daily urination over a period of three days
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
The OABSS score is mainly used for initial severity grading, with total scores ranging from 0 to 15: 0-5 as mild, 6-11 as moderate, and 12-15 as severe.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

PSQI is a self-rating scale that assesses subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, sleep medication use, and daytime dysfunction.

The scale is divided into two parts: 19 self-rated questions to assess sleep and 5 questions that are assessed by a bed partner (those who do not have a bed partner but have family members who know can also answer). The questions are short, easy to understand, and easy to answer.

PSQI questions are scored on a scale ranging from "0 = no difficulty" to "3 = very difficult", resulting in scores that correspond to the various domains of the scale. Scores range from 0 to 21, with scores greater than 5 considered to indicate a sleep disorder
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Nocturia quality of life (NQOL) score
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
The questionnaire included 3 dimensions and 13 items. Sleep/energy (7 items, 0-28 Scores), distress/concern component (5 questions, 0-20 points) and total quality of life score (1 question, 0-4 points). Each item was selected from "0" to "4" points using Likert5 scale, with a total score of 52 points. Items 12 and 13 are reverse scoring items, with higher scores indicating higher quality of life.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Qilu Hospital of Shandong University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Estimated)

June 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 10, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 10, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KYLL-2026-04-013-1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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