Relations between Prostatic Calculi and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Recently as ultrasonography is increasingly used to evaluate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in the elderly patients, prostatic calculi are more often revealed; however, the mechanism of formation of prostatic calculi is not clearly known, and their impacts on LUTS are controversial. We investigated whether the type and location of prostatic calculi might influence LUTS in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From July 2003 to January 2008, 1,437 consecutive patients underwent transrectal ultrasonography. Of these patients 383 with clinical BPH were retrospectively studied. According to the type (type A a discrete small reflection; type B a large mass of multireflection; type M mixed) and location (periurethral vs. non-periurethral) of prostatic calculi, the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, volume of prostate, maximum urinary flow rate and residual urine volume, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) were compared. RESULTS: Prostatic calcification was found in 70% (268/383), and type A in 38%, type B in 46% and type M in 16%. There was no significant difference according to the presence or types of prostatic calcification, comparing serum PSA levels, volume of prostate, maximum urinary flow rate and residual urine volume. And there was no significant correlation between the types of prostatic calcificaton and each item of IPSS. Periurethral and non-periurethral prostatic calcification failed to show the significant difference in each items of IPSS. CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant difference in LUTS according to presence, types, or locations of prostatic calculi in clinical BPH patients.