Emergency department visits following transurethral resection of prostate in the elderly: Does duration of postoperative catheterization count?

Background: Elderly patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia are increasingly having minimally invasive surgeries due to their safety. There is also a drive to minimize the duration of postoperative catheterization following transurethral resection of the prostate to reduce hospital stay and encourage early ambulation. These are desirable in the elderly to improve outcomes. Can early catheter removal be done safely in the geriatrics without an increase in presentation to the emergency department with complications? We compare the emergency presentation of elderly patients who had early and delayed catheter removal following transurethral resection of the prostate.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective review of transurethral resection of the prostate in the elderly (≥70 years) within 2 years in a single hospital. All the patients had monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate and were categorized based on the duration of postoperative catheterization as either early (third postoperative day) or delayed (> third postoperative day). The duration of catheterization was based on surgeon preference. Patients with intraoperative complications were excluded. Data on clinical presentation, comorbidities, and presentation at the emergency department were retrieved and analysed.

Results: Forty-one patients were studied with the mean age of patients being 76 ± 4 years. Twenty patients had early catheter removal and 21 had delayed catheter removal. A total of nine patients presented to the emergency department within the 30-day postoperative period with either bleeding urinary retention or incontinence requiring re-catheterization, six had early catheter removal, and three had delayed catheter removal. The catheter duration, preoperative ASA status prostate volume, and preoperative indwelling catheter were not statistically significant determinants of presentation to the emergency department in these elderly men. The presence of comorbidities assessed using the Charlson Comorbidity Index was a statistically significant variable to presentation at the emergency department after surgery P = 0.006.

Conclusion: Early catheter removal is safe in elderly patients following transurethral resection of the prostate, however, there is a risk of presentation to the emergency department with complications, especially in patients with comorbidities.