Self-reported quality of life measures of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia on indwelling urethral catheters

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the self-reported quality of life (QoL) measures of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who are managed temporarily with indwelling urethral catheters. Patients and Methods Between February and April 2005; 40 consecutive patients with BPH (mean age 69.5 years) on temporary indwelling catheters were asked to complete an eleven-item questionnaire in order to measure their self-reported physical and mental health status. Result Eighty percent of the study population (n=32) did not feel more irritable than usual; 75(n=30) had no feeling of worthlessness; 72.5(n=29) had urethral pain which had little or no interference with their daily activities; 62.5(n=25) still derived leisure from the things they used to enjoy; 60(n=24) were much less interested in sex or had lost interest in sex completely; while 80(n=32) felt that their quality of life was not impaired as a result of long-term catheterization. Conclusion Generally; one would expect that people who are subjected to long-term indwelling catheterization would report a poor QoL However; the majority of our patients did not have the feeling that their QoL was significantly hampered by their obvious disease burden which was probably due to the fact that urinary catheter drainage relieved their lower urinary tract symptoms