TUESDAY, April 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with preoperative overactive bladder (OAB) have higher postoperative storage symptoms despite comparable overall symptom improvement, according to a review published online March 31 in the International Neurourology Journal.
Carlo Giulioni, from Casa di Cura Villa Igea in Ancona, Italy, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the outcomes of endoscopic surgery in men with BPH associated with preoperative OAB symptoms. Thirteen studies were included, with 1,436 patients: 672 and 820 in the OAB and no-OAB groups, respectively.
The researchers found that the storage symptoms-International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) favored the OAB group at six months postoperatively (mean difference [MD], 1.06), but no significant differences were seen in changes at three and six months. Total-IPSS remained comparable between the groups at three and six months, while the no-OAB group exhibited significantly better outcomes at 12 months (MD, 3.66). At three months, the quality-of-life index showed no significant difference, but holmium laser enucleation of the prostate favored the OAB group at six months (MD, −0.36); beyond this period, overall changes favored the no-OAB group (MD, −0.61). No significant differences were seen for urge urinary incontinence or the need for postoperative anticholinergic therapy.
"These findings support careful preoperative counseling regarding the potential persistence of storage symptoms but [do] not allow definitive prognostication regarding long-term functional outcomes," the authors write.
