Transurethral prostate resection and bleeding: A randomized, placebo controlled trial of the role of finasteride for decreasing operative blood loss

Purpose: Bleeding associated with transurethral prostate resection can often be significant and lead to increased morbidity and occasionally mortality. It has been shown that finasteride decreases bleeding in patients with hematuria of prostatic origin. We hypothesized that bleeding in patients undergoing transurethral prostate resection could be decreased by giving finasteride for 2 weeks before surgery. Materials and Methods: A total 70 patients scheduled to undergo elective transurethral prostate resection were randomized to receive 5 mg. finasteride daily or placebo for 2 weeks before surgery. Serum hemoglobin was measured before and after surgery, and the following day. The volume of irrigation fluid used and its hemoglobin concentration as well as resected prostate weight were recorded. Results: Of the 68 patients who underwent transurethral prostate resection 2 were withdrawn before surgery, and so 32 received finasteride and 36 received placebo. There was significantly less mean blood loss in irrigation fluid in the finasteride group than in the control group (43.6 versus 69.3 gm. hemoglobin, p = 0.011). The mean difference was more significant when blood loss per gm. resected prostate was calculated (2.65 versus 4.65 gm. hemoglobin per gm. prostate, p <0.01). Conclusions: This study shows that finasteride given for 2 weeks preoperatively decreases bleeding in patients undergoing transurethral prostate resection. Further study is required to determine the optimal timing and dose duration to minimize blood loss and identify how relevant such a decrease in bleeding is in clinical practice.