COMPARISON OF TWO DIFFERENT WAYS OF PASSING URETHRAL CATHETER AFTER TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE PROSTATE

OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare the rate of success of two methods of passing urethral catheter following TURP using silicone Foley catheter: passing the urethral catheter with introducer into an empty bladder and passing the catheter without introducer into bladder filled with normal saline. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study carried out between October, 2013 and November, 2016 on 64 patients. Patients who had TURP for BPH where divided into 2 groups based on method of passing urethral catheter after the procedure: Group A: passing silicone urethral catheter with introducer into an empty bladder after TURP. Group B: passing silicone urethral catheter without introducer with bladder filled with normal saline.The outcomes of comparing the groups were computed using appropriate statistical tools. RESULTS: Catheter was passed at single attempt for 15 patients in group A and 14 patients in group B. Successful passage of the catheter was achieved at 2 attempts for 7 patients in group A and 13 patients in group B.Whereas success was achieved at 3 attempts for 10 patients in group A and 5 patients in group B. On comparing the success of attempts to pass the catheter in each group, x^2 = 0.721, p = 0.396. Fisher exact test also did not reveal any significance, p = 0.286. CONCLUSION: Passing silicone Foley urethral catheter into a bladder filled with normal saline after TURP is as effective as passing the catheter with the aid of introducer and guarantees no further injury to the urethra.