Low incidence of acute urinary retention in the general male population: the triumph project.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the incidence of acute urinary retention (AUR) in the general male population and in a population of men newly diagnosed with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of BPH (LUTS/BPH).


METHODS
We performed a retrospective cohort study in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database, a GP research database in The Netherlands, during the period 1995-2000. All males, > or =45 years, without a history of AUR or radical cystectomy were included in the study. In addition, we followed a sub-cohort of men, newly diagnosed with LUTS/BPH. AUR was defined as the sudden inability to urinate, requiring catheterization.


RESULTS
Amongst 56,958 males with a mean follow-up of 2.8 years, 344 AUR cases occurred (incidence rate 2.2/1000 man-years) of whom more than 40% were precipitated. AUR was the first symptom of LUTS/BPH in 73 (49%) of the 149 AUR cases that occurred in men newly diagnosed with LUTS/BPH. The risk of AUR was 11-fold higher in patients newly diagnosed with LUTS/BPH (RR 11.5; 95%CI: 8.4-15.6) with an overall incidence rate of 18.3/1000 man-years (95%CI: 14.5-22.8).


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence rate of AUR is low in the general population but substantial in a population of men newly diagnosed with LUTS/BPH. The incidence rate increases with age and AUR is precipitated in approximately 40% of all cases. Within the LUTS/BPH cohort, AUR is the first presenting symptom of BPH in 50% of all AUR cases.
Verhamme
K M C
KM
Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus MC, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. k.verhamme@erasmusmc.nl
Dieleman
J P
JP
van Wijk
M A M
MA
Bosch
J L H R
JL
Stricker
B H Ch
BH
Sturkenboom
M C J M
MC
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016055:Urinary Retention / Q000453:epidemiology*