Clinical Risk Factors Associated With Urethral Atrophy

To analyze a series of clinical risk factors associated with pretreatment urethral atrophy.

We retrospectively reviewed 301 patients who underwent artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) placement between September 2009 and November 2015; of these, 60 (19.9%) transcorporal cuff patients were excluded. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on intraoperative spongiosal circumference measurements. Men with urethral atrophy (3.5 cm cuff size) were compared to controls (≥4 cm cuff size). Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine risk factors for urethral atrophy.

Among 241 AUS patients analyzed, urethral atrophy was present in 151 patients (62.7%) compared to 90 patients (37.3%) who received larger cuffs (range 4-5.5 cm). Patients with urethral atrophy were older (71.1years vs 68.3 years; P < .02), more likely to have received radiation (52.9% vs. 33.3%; P < .007), and had a longer time interval between prostate cancer treatment and AUS surgery (8.9 years vs. 6.6 years; P < .033). On multivariable analysis, radiation therapy was independently associated with risk of urethral atrophy (odds ratio 1.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-3.13; P = .046), whereas greater time between cancer therapy and incontinence surgery approached clinical significance (odds ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.09; P = .05).

History of radiation therapy and increasing length of time from prostate cancer treatment are associated with urethral atrophy before AUS placement.