Influence of secondary diagnoses in the development of urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy

Objective: To study whether there are factors related to secondary diagnoses (SDg) present in patients with prostate cancer that influence the development of urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy (RP). Materials and methods: A retrospective multicenter observational study was performed reviewing the medical records of 430 men who underwent RP due to organ-confined prostate cancer in 9 different hospitals. Two study groups were distinguished: Group A (GA): Patients without urinary incontinence after RP; Group B (GB): patients with any degree of post-surgical urinary incontinence. Results: Average age at surgery was 63.42 years (range 45-73). 258 patients were continent after surgery and 172 patients complaint of any degree of incontinence after RP. A higher percentage of healthy patients was found in group A (continent after surgery) than in group B (p = 0.001). The most common SDg prior to surgery were hypertension, lower urinary tract symptoms, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus and erectile dysfunction, but none did show a greater trend towards post-surgical incontinence. Conclusions: A better health status prior to surgery is associated to a lower incidence of new-onset urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy. However, no correlation was found between the most common medical disorders and the development of post-surgical urinary incontinence.