Health-related quality of life of patients using clean intermittent catheterization for neurogenic bladder secondary to spinal cord injury

Objectives. To determine the psychological and social status of patients using clean intermittent catheterization for neurogenic bladder according to health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods. We conducted a prospective trial involving 132 patients (81 men and 51 women, mean age 41.8 years, range 18 to 80 years) using clean intermittent catheterization because of neurogenic bladder secondary to spinal cord injury. The 150 controls (90 men and 60 women) lived in the same region as the patients and were frequency matched to ensure equal age and sex distributions. HRQOL was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36). Results. The SF-36 scores did not reveal any significant differences between the men and women in the patient group. The SF-36 scores of the patients were significantly lower than those of the general population. When patients and controls were divided into two groups according to sex and age, the SF-36 scores of the patients were significantly lower than the controls across both sex and all age groups, other than the energy and vitality scale, the differences for which were not statistically significant in women and those younger than 50 years. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that patients using clean intermittent catheterization because of neurogenic bladder secondary to spinal cord injury generally exhibit a reduced quality of life in all health domains as assessed by the SF-36. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc.