Aggravation of lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia after COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on prostate volume, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) andpostvoid residual urine volume (PVR) of patients with BPH. METHODS: After retrospectively review the hospital database, the study included 104 patients aged 40-75 years, who were detected to have SARS-CoV-2 according to the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test of combined oro-nasopharyngeal swab samples between March 2020 and December 2020 who were being followed for BPH and had undergone prostate volume, PSA, IPSS, Qmax and PVR measurements within one year prior to their COVID-19 diagnosis. The prostate volume, PSA, IPSS, Qmax and PVR parameters were compared before and after COVID-19. RESULTS: The prostate volume, PSA, IPSS, Qmax and PVR values were compared pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19. No statistically significant changes were found in prostate volume and PSA levels (p>0.05), while a statistically significant difference was observed in IPSS, Qmax and PVR values, independent of the severity of the disease (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 appears to have a negative impact on IPSS, Qmax, and PVR in BPH patients in the short term.