Perioperative patient education improves long-term satisfaction rates of low-risk prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy.

Abstract

To evaluate patient-reported functional outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP) and to analyse the effect of perioperative patient education on satisfaction rates among low-risk prostate cancer patients. Inclusion criteria encompassed low-risk prostate cancer patients as defined by the D'Amico criteria, undergoing nerve-sparing RP without pelvic lymph node dissection. Patient-centred functional outcomes, subjective evaluation of perioperative counselling, and patient satisfaction rates were documented. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) was assessed by daily pad usage. Erectile dysfunction (ED) was assessed using IIEF5 score. Patients' histories were attained from the electronic medical records. The effect of pre-defined predictive features for satisfaction rates was analysed in low-risk patients. Statistical analyses included Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney-U test, and binary logistic regression models (p < 0.05). 266 patients met the inclusion criteria. Median follow-up was 94 months (68-118). The global satisfaction rate was 75.1%. Regarding SUI, 69.5% of patients required no pads. 67.1% felt very well informed, while 11.7% felt poorly educated about postoperative SUI. Regarding ED, an IIEF score of ≥18 was reached by 33.7%. 59.6% felt very well educated, while 13.0% felt poorly informed. Poor patient counselling regarding SUI and ED led to significantly decreased long-term satisfaction rates [40.7, 33.3% (p < 0.001)]. In multivariate analysis, poor ED patient counselling [OR 0.190, 95% CI 0.055-0.652 (p = 0.008)], and postoperative IIEF5 score [OR 3.061, 95% CI 1.013-3.111 (p = 0.013)] could be confirmed as independent predictors for patient satisfaction. Patient-centred functional outcome analysis has illustrated the importance of perioperative patient education on long-term patient satisfaction rates after RP in low-risk prostate cancer patients.