THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON LOWER URINARY TRACT SYMPTOMS (LUTS) IN PATIENTS TREATED CONSERVATIVELY FOR BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-malignant urological pathology characterized by a progressive increase in the volume of the prostate gland and one of the important diseases which affect lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Covid-19 is a new viral infection with epidemiological characteristics of a pandemic. The disease is presented as a respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological late complication. There is limited data that low urinary tract can be affected and aggravate symptoms and quality of life (QoL). Our pilot study describes a male population treated with conservative methods for BPH and the effect of Covid-19 infection on their LUTS and QoL. This was a case-control study between April 2021 and November 2021. The study included 33 patients with a history of Covid-19 infection. The assessment of LUTS was carried out by processing the data obtained from the completed by the patients IPSS questionnaires (the last one before, immediately, and five months after Covid-19). The control group consisted of 50 patients, which for the management of the selection bias, matched according to demographic and clinical features of the group. All patients underwent ultrasound diagnostics giving information about the volume of the prostate gland and the amount of residual urine. Two years after the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we can confidently say that not all characteristics of this type of infection are sufficiently clear. More in-depth studies on Covid-19 as a cause of worsening LUIS and overall progression of BPH could help identify new aspects of infection leading to significant improvements in its treatment.