Investigating the effect of tamsulosin on the measurement of bladder wall thickness and International Prostate Symptom Score in benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract

Introduction: According to previous studies, aging, gender, bladder volume and pathological states, such as bladder outflow obstruction, affect bladder wall thickness (BWT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between BWT and the International Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) before and after tamsulosin treatment.Methods: In this study, 60 BPH patients were included. After obtaining informed consent, data were gathered using questionnaires to determine IPSS. After that, prostate-specific antigen was measured and a clinical examination, including a digital rectal examination, was performed for all patients. BWT was determined by transabdominal ultrasound. Finally, all patients were treated with tamsulosin (0.4 mg/day) for 2 months. After completing treatment, the IPSS and BWT were measured again and compared with the initial findings.Results: In total, 44 patients completed treatment. Patients aged 61.7 ± 9.2 years old. The mean ± standard deviation of IPSS and BWT were 14.6 ± 5.0 and 5.36 ± 1.28 mm before treatment, while they significantly (p < 0.0001) decreased to 8.2 ± 4.7 and 4.69 ± 1.23 mm, respectively, after treatment. Chi-square test showed that the decrease in BWT was significantly correlated with the improvement in IPSS (p = 0.002; r = 0.449).Conclusion: After treatment with tamsulosin, patients experienced a reduction in their BWT which was significantly correlated with improvement in their IPSS. We conclude that transabdominal evaluation of BWT could be included in the follow-up assessment in BPH.