Impact of urinary incontinence on the quality of life of individuals undergoing radical prostatectomy.
Mariana Ferreira Vaz Gontijo Bernardes, Sabrina de Cássia Chagas, Lívia Cristina de Resende Izidoro and 3 others
PMID 30916232WHAT IT FOUND
Men two to six months after radical prostatectomy rated urinary incontinence as very severe on a quality-of-life questionnaire, worse than men six months to one year.
Measured urine loss did not differ between groups.
Key findings
01G1 had a mean ICIQ-SF score of 9.6, G2 had 6.9, and G3 had 7.3; G1 differed from G2 (p = 0.022).
02The one-hour Pad Test mean loss was 5.7 grams in G1, 2.0 grams in G2, and 2.0 grams in G3, and the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.310).
03KHQ scores differed across groups for Impact of UI, Limitations of Daily Activities, Physical Limitations, Severity Measures, and Social Limitations, with G1 worse than G2 in several domains.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It is a single-center cross-sectional study, so it shows associations at one time point and cannot prove that time after surgery causes quality-of-life change. The sample had low schooling (average 3.9 years) and the authors note embarrassment, lack of body knowledge, and viewing leakage as aging may affect questionnaire answers. The one-hour Pad Test quantifies loss but does not identify whether leakage is stress, urgency, or overflow. Most participants did not answer the urinary incontinence during sexual intercourse item because they reported no erection, limiting sexual-function interpretation. Participants were only 2 months to 2 years after surgery and excluded those with catheters or preoperative urinary incontinence, so it does not cover those groups.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the very severe questionnaire score as proof that objectively measured urine loss was worse in the first six months; the one-hour Pad Test did not show a statistically significant difference between groups.