Clinical experience of early catheter removal following transurethral resection of the prostate

Lim, Won Taek; Song, Jae Mann

Abstract

We investigated whether early catheter removal after operation could affect the result and morbidity or TURP. We reviewed 99 charts of 118 consecutive BPH patients who underwent TURP during 1991. Since August 1991 we changed our philosophy and started to remove the catheter on postoperative day 1. Prior to that time catheter was removed three to five days postoperatively. There were 42 patients in early catheter removal group and 57 patients in traditional group. Nine- teen cases were ruled out due to the protocol violation or loss during follow-up. All operations were performed by the same surgeon. There was no significant differences between two groups in terms of patient`s age, symptom scores, operation time, resected specimen weight and the amount of used irrigating solution. No statistical differences between the complications of both groups was seen. Of the early removal group 6(14%) required reinsertion of the catheter following initial removal and 4 (10%) required blood transfusions. In conventional group 5(9%) required recatheterization and 5 (9%) required transfusion. Other complications were not remarkable. The average hospital stay postoperatively was 2.2 days in early removal group and 6.2 days in traditional group. The average costs saving for patients in early removal group was about won 140,000(about dollers 200). These results suggest that early removal of the catheter could be allowed as a routine postoperative management following TURP, thereby reducing the length of hospital stay and costs.