Effect of anatomic, procedural, and dosimetric variables on urinary retention after permanent iodine-125 prostate brachytherapy

Objectives. To correlate anatomic, procedural, and dosimetric parameters with the rate of intermittent self-catheterization (ISC). Methods. The records of 402 patients with a median age of 69 years treated with I-125 prostate seed implantation from 1996 to 2001 were reviewed for the use of ISC. The records were examined for the preimplant factors: prostate volume, use of androgen deprivation, and prostate length. The intraprocedural factor reviewed was the number of needles used. The following postimplant information was also collected: preimplant transrectal ultrasound-generated prostate volume/postimplant computed tomography-generated prostate volume ratio, V-100, V-150, V-200, V-300, V-400, D-90, and D-100. Correlation was assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results. Forty-four patients had to use ISC (10.9%). The mean and median duration of ISC was 11.9 and 6 weeks, respectively. From univariate analysis, prostate length and prostate volume were found to be statistically significant predictors of ISC after I-125 prostate seed implantation with a P value of 0.0002 and 0.0042, respectively. With multivariate analysis, only prostate length was a statistically significant predictor of ISC use after I-125 prostate seed implantation (P = 0.0095). Conclusions. Prostate length is an important predictor of ISC after I-125 prostate seed implantation. UROLOGY 61: 152-155, 2003. (C) 2003, Elsevier Science Inc.