Complications leading to hospitalisation 12 months after brachytherapy or high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer: French national from the PMSI-MCO data, 2019 and 2020

Background and purpose

Prostate cancer can be treated using either brachytherapy or high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), which are less invasive than surgery. Although both approaches have proved effective, few studies have looked at the specific causes of hospitalisation due to complications, following these treatments. The aim of this study was to compare the causes of hospitalisation.

Methods

A retrospective study was carried out examining the records of patients who had undergone brachytherapy or HIFU treatment for localized prostate cancer in 2019 and 2020, using the French national database: Programme de Médicalisation du Système d’Information − Médecine, Chirurgie, Obstétrique (PMSI-MSO). Data on post-treatment hospitalisations were analyzed.

Results

3090 patients were included in the study, of whom 1699 underwent brachytherapy and 1391 HIFU procedures. The incidence of hospitalisation was much higher after HIFU than after brachytherapy, notably due to a higher rate of obstructive complications (12.94% vs 2.77%). Large differences were also found for infections (8.20% vs 1.47%) and bleeding (6.76% vs 2.18%) leading to hospitalisation. Most of the complications occurred at the initial hospitalization: 12% for HIFU, and 1.4% for brachytherapy.

Conclusion

Complications were more frequent after treatment with HIFU than with brachytherapy in the year following treatment for localized prostate cancer. Further the causes of hospitalisation differed between the two treatments. These differences need to be taken into account in the therapeutic strategy, as well as in post-treatment management.