The voiding VAS score is a simple and useful method for predicting POUR after laparoscopy for benign gynaecologic diseases: a pilot study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify an appropriate scoring system for predicting postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after gynaecological laparoscopic surgery for benign disease. We analysed 99 patients who underwent gynaecological laparoscopic surgery for benign disease. All patients were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires, including the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), voiding visual analogue scale (VAS), and Brief Pain Inventory-Korean version. Of the 99 patients, 27 (27.3%) experienced urinary retention at least once, while 72 (72.7%) did not. The preoperative and postoperative IPSS scores were not associated with the development of POUR. However, the voiding VAS score was significantly lower in patients that developed POUR (p = .014). In conclusion, our results show that the voiding VAS score is a simple and useful method for identifying patients at risk of POUR after gynaecologic laparoscopic surgery for benign disease.

IMPACT STATEMENT

• What is already known on this subject? Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) is an often underestimated complication defined as inability to void during the postoperative period despite a full bladder. Undetected POUR may lead to complications such as urinary tract infection, bladder distention, and bladder dysfunction. Routine assessment of POUR by bladder ultrasonography in all surgical patients places a larger workload on the nursing staff.

• What do the results of this study add? Among the self-scoring assessment tools, the voiding VAS provided the most accurate reflection of POUR in patients undergoing gynaecologic laparoscopic surgery for benign disease.

• What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? As laparoscopy is the most widely employed surgical procedure in gynaecology, our findings could have significant implications for postoperative care in daily clinical practice.

Keywords:

• Urinary retention
• urination
• laparoscopy
• gynaecologic surgical procedures
• visual analogue scale

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Division of Statistics in Medical Research Collaborating Center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital for statistical analysis.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital [Grant No. 02-2012-054].