Purpose: Urinary retention occurs in 5%-36% of patients with prostate cancer after implantation of radioactive seeds for brachytherapy. We used transperineal biopsy as a model to determine the influence of needle trauma on urinary retention.
Methods and material: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 157 men with high risk of prostate cancer who underwent systematic ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate with the transperineal template technique and an 18-gauge automated biopsy device.
Results: Eighteen of 157 patients (11.5%; 95% confidence interval, 6.9%-17.5%) had urinary retention within 48 hours after biopsy. Median age was 68.5 years in patients with retention vs. 67.0 years in patients without (p = 0.319); median calculated prostate volume, 76.5 vs. 51.5 mL (p = 0.015); and median number of biopsy cores, 22.0 vs. 20.0 (p = 0.038). Age distribution differed between groups (p = 0.047), with more younger men in the no-retention group. On multivariate analysis, only number of biopsy cores significantly predicted urinary retention (p = 0.003). Four patients required transurethral resection; 1 had an indwelling catheter until radical prostatectomy; and 13 were catheter-free within 1-5 days.
Conclusions: Needle trauma alone may cause urinary retention in men undergoing transperineal procedures. The number of needle incursions and prostate size are predictors of postprocedure urinary retention.