Vaginal oestradiol for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in postmenopausal women--a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

A prospective randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 17-beta oestradiol 25-mg vaginal tablets or placebo daily for 12 weeks was undertaken in 110 postmenopausal women with urinary frequency, urgency and/or urge incontinence recruited from a tertiary referral urogynaecology clinic. After 3 months the only statistically significant difference was a greater reduction in urinary urgency in those women with sensory urgency treated with 17-beta oestradiol compared to placebo. This may be due to the effective treatment of local vaginal atrophy by low-dose oestrogen rather than any effect on the lower urinary tract.