Latest developments in the assessment and treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia: what is clinically relevant?

Transurethral water vapor ablation of the prostate with the Rezūm system: Urodynamic findings

AIMS

The efficacy of the transurethral convective interstitial radiofrequency water vapor thermal ablation of the prostate with the Rezūm system for the treatment of male lower urinary tract symptom due to benign prostatic hyperplasia is well proven. The improvement of urodynamic parameters obtained from a simple uroflowmetry cannot measure the effect of water vapor injection on the bladder outlet obstruction.

METHODS

This monocentric retrospective pilot study analyzes the data of pressure-flow studies performed before and after 17 Rezūm procedures to answer the question whether thus obtained ablation of prostate tissue has a disobstructive effect on the bladder outlet.

RESULTS

All the functional outcomes were consistently improved after the procedure, with a median flowrate increase of 5.1 ml/s (p = 0.0022) and a median postvoid residual urine (PVR) reduction of 100 ml (p = 0.0042). The prostate volume was reduced by 40% (p < 0.0001) and the median Bladder Outlet Obstruction Index (BOOI) reduction was 53.8 (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

These data show that the possibility to significantly reduce the obstruction grade with even a single Rezūm procedure is concrete and seems to be independent from the degree of the obstruction grade.

[Pharmacological treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia]

The pharmacological treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is indicated when men suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) but there are no absolute indications for prostate surgery or severe bladder outlet obstruction. Phytotherapy can be used in men with mild to moderate LUTS and alpha-blockers can quickly and effectively decrease the LUTS and symptomatic disease progression. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5-I) are an alternative to alpha-blockers when men experience bothersome side effects from alpha-blockers or erectile dysfunction. If patients predominantly have bladder storage symptoms and a small prostate, muscarinic receptor antagonists are a viable treatment option. The combination of alpha-blocker plus muscarinic receptor antagonist is more efficacious in reducing LUTS than the single drugs alone. The 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors (5ARI) can significantly decrease LUTS and disease progression (e.g. acute urinary retention and need for prostate surgery) in men with larger prostates (> 30-40 ml). The combination of 5ARI plus alpha-blocker can reduce LUTS and disease progression more effectively than drug monotherapy. Combination therapy with PDE5-I (tadalafil) plus 5ARI (finasteride) reduces LUTS more substantially than 5ARI alone and, additionally, PDE5-Is reduce the sexual side effects during 5ARI treatment.