Does length of time spent on the waiting list for TURP influence the outcome?

Abstract

With an ever increasing demand for operative procedures within the NHS but little increase in capacity, waiting lists are lengthening, particularly for benign procedures. We sought to determine whether increasing time on a waiting list influences the outcome from a transurethral resection of prostate (TURP), with a primary outcome measure of success at inpatient trial without catheter (TWOC) and pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative secondary outcome measures. Data was collected from four separate retrospective TURP audits performed between 2009-2015. A total of 379 TURP procedures were included with the time on the waiting list ranging from 8 to 384 days. In patients who were not catheterised pre-operatively success at in patient TWOC by 30 day intervals (in 30 day intervals from 1-30 days to over 151 days) was 79%, 83%, 88%, 87%, 100% and 83%; in those with a catheter, success was 46%, 71%, 75%, 100%, 50% and 86%. In conclusion waiting longer for a TURP does not adversely affect the outcome of inpatient TWOC. Level of evidence: Not applicable – this is a single centre audit over multiple time points.