The effect of incontinence after radical prostatectomy on quality of life and frailty

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of incontinence after radical prostatectomy on quality of life and level of frailty. It is a descriptive study conducted with 107 radical prostatectomy patients who were hospitalized in the Urology Clinic of a training and research hospital in Istanbul between March–August 2021, and met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using the Patient Identification Form, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-MLUTS), and the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS). The mean fragility score of the patients was 7.82 ± 2.63, and 27% of them were ‘Mildly Frail’ and 25.2% were ‘Moderately Frail’. The ICIQ-MLUTS voiding complaints sub-dimension score of the patients was 8.62 ± 3.48, and the voiding complaints bother score was found to be 24.8 ± 9.85. The ICIQ-MLUTS storage complaints sub-dimension score was 12.13 ± 3.05, and the storage complaints bother score was 36.25 ± 9.02. The ICIQ-MLUTS daytime urinary frequency subdimension score was 2.35 ± 0.93, and the daytime urinary frequency bother score was 6.94 ± 2.17. The ICIQ-MLUTS nocturnal urinary frequency sub-dimension score was 2.79 ± 0.88, and the nocturnal urinary frequency discomfort level score was found to be 7.37 ± 2.19. In this study, it was observed that patients' complaints regarding lower urinary tract symptoms and their quality of life were at a moderate level and the frailty levels increased with the increasing severity of incontinence symptoms after radical prostatectomy.