title: The use of prostatic intravesical protrusion correlated with uroflowmetry: a new method to measure obstruction in patients with LUTS due to BOO without using P/F studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To detect obstruction in patients with LUTS suggestive of BPH comparing the prostatic intravesical protrusion detected by abdominal ultrasounds with uroflowmetry testing results with urodynamic study to make evidence of obstruction.
  
  
  METHODS
  A series of 25 patients (mean age 67.9 years) at the first visit for BPH problems, underwent to routine examination including: abdominal ultrasound examination, TRUS, uroflowmetry IPSS and QoL questionnaires and urodynamic evaluation. We evaluated the degree in mm of prostatic intravesical protrusion by ultrasounds with a bladder volume between 150-220 cc. The degree of protrusion was classified as mild (<5 mm), moderate (5-10 mm) and severe (>10 mm), Qmax was divided in obstructed (<10 ml/s), equivocal (10-15 ml/s) and unobstructed (>15 ml/s). Confirmation or not of obstruction was validated by urodynamic study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  mean prostate volume was 41.4cc; IPSS 22.4; Quality of Life 4.0; post voided residual urine 97.8 cc; DAMPF 62.6; Schäfer 3.4; Qmax 9.9 ml/s. Almost all the patients with severe protrusion had obstructed flow confirmed by P/F study. Patients with severe protrusion and unobstructedflow have obstruction compensated by high pressure voiding.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results, despite of the numbers of patients, suggest that the degree of prostatic protrusion measured by abdominal ultrasounds is a data that, if correlated to obstructed Qmax, can be used in the evaluation of BPH patients and their grade of obstruction.
authors.affiliation: St Antonio e Biagio e C Arrigo, SOC Urologia, Alessandria, Italy. dicuiomauro@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dicuio
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pomara
authors.forename: Stepan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vesely
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menchini Fabris
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ales
authors.forename: Jan-Erik
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Damber
authors.forename: Christer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dahlstrand
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications*; D001748:Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014563:Urodynamics