OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors that effectively predict indistinct plane (IP) in patients who underwent holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP).
METHODS: Data of 208 consecutive patients from our HoLEP database were reviewed and analyzed. IP was defined in 107 cases, as the plane could be identified only depending on endoscopic beak dissection rather than laser dissection in the initial stage of HoLEP, whereas the control group consisted of 101 cases. Variables including age, body mass index, prostatic volume (PV), intravesical prostatic protrusion, prostate-specific antigen, prostate-specific antigen density, bladder stones, urinary tract infection, microscopic hematuria, prior biopsy (PB), diabetes, hypertension, history of acute urinary retention, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor treatment, catheter dependency, residual urine, region, smoking, and alcohol consumption were compared between the two groups. The risk factors for predicting the presence of IP were determined using a multivariable binary logistic regression model using a forward selection approach with a focus on improvement in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).
RESULTS: The incidence of IP was 51.4% (107/208). PV (OR = 0.977, p < 0.001) and PB (OR = 0.297, p = 0.028) were identified as the independent predictors of capsule plane status. PV with a cutoff of 54 ml had the best predictive effectiveness for IP based on AUC (0.727; 95% CI 0.659-0.795). The specificity and sensitivity of this cutoff were 82.2% and 53.3%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: PV is the most reliable factor to predict IP during HoLEP procedures. There is a high possibility of IP in patients with a PV less than 54 ml.

We investigated the association between varicocele and benign prostatic hyperplasia in men over the age of 40 years. A total of 296 outpatients were evaluated. Prostate volume was measured with transrectal ultrasound. Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and ultrasound. Prostatic hyperplasia was defined as prostate volume greater than or equal to 40 ml. Two groups were compared: patients with prostate volume less than 40 ml and patients with prostate volume greater than or equal to 40 ml. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean age, post-void residual, International Prostate Symptom Score and PSA. The percentage of patients with clinical varicocele in the group with a volume less than 40 ml and the group with a volume equal to or greater than 40 ml was 38.2% and 47.7% respectively (p = .12). There were no differences between the two groups in the percentage of patients with clinical or subclinical varicocele (43.2% vs. 52.2%, respectively, p = .12). No differences were found in the percentage of patients with varicocele when comparing men with prostates smaller than 40 ml and greater than or equal to 40 ml.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) in the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with different prostatic volume (PV). Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study, 137 patients, mean age (70±11) years, range 50-89 years, undergoing PAE for BPH between January 2015 and May 2017 in Chinese PLA General Hospital were involved and divided into three groups according to the PV (group A, >80 ml; group B, 40-80 ml; group C, <40 ml). The changes of international prostate symptoms (IPSS) score, quality of life (QoL) score, and maximum urinary flow rate (Q(max)) were compared among the three groups at 1, 6, and 12 months post-PAE. Correlation between the proportion of prostate ischemia at 1 month post-PAE and the proportion of PV reduction at 12 month post-PAE were analyzed, also the correlation between both of them with IPSS and QoL score were analyzed, respectively. Results: Mean baseline prostate volumes were 110 ml in group A (n=62), 67 ml in group B (n=47) and 33 ml in group C (n=28). At 12 months post-PAE, the outcomes of IPSS score and Q(max) in group A were better than those in group B and C (all P<0.05).The proportion of prostate ischemia at 1 month post-PAE and proportion of PV reduction at 12 month post-PAE in group A, B, and C were 61.4%, 49.3%, 38.0%, and 47.3%, 29.3%, 24.6%, respectively. The proportion of prostate ischemia in group A was larger than that in group B and C (P=0.049, 0.004), also the proportion of PV reduction in group A was greater than that in group B and C (P<0.01). The proportion of prostate ischemia at 1 month post-PAE in all three groups were positively correlated with the proportion of PV reduction at 12 month post-PAE (r=0.699, P=0.024; r=0.719, P=0.019; r=0.821, P=0.004), and there were positive correlations between both of them and the improvement of IPSS score at 12 month post-PAE (0.5目的： 比较前列腺动脉栓塞术（PAE）治疗不同体积良性前列腺增生（BPH）患者的疗效。 方法： 本研究为回顾性、单中心临床研究，收集2015年1月至2017年5月解放军总医院行PAE治疗的137例BPH患者，年龄50~89（70±11）岁，根据前列腺体积分为A组（>80 ml）62例、B组（40~80 ml）47例和C组（<40 ml）28例。比较三组PAE术后1、6、12个月国际前列腺症状评分（IPSS）、生活质量（QoL）评分、最大尿流率（Q(max)）等的差异；比较三组PAE术后1个月前列腺缺血比例及术后12个月前列腺体积缩小比例的相关性及二者与IPSS评分、QoL评分的相关性。 结果： PAE术前，A、B、C三组平均前列腺体积分别为110、67、33 ml。PAE术后12个月，A组IPSS评分及Q(max)改善情况均优于B组和C组（均P<0.05）。PAE术后1个月，A、B、C三组前列腺缺血比例分别为61.4%、49.3%、38.0%，A组缺血比例>B组和C组（P=0.049、0.004）。术后12个月，A、B、C三组前列腺体积缩小比例分别为47.3%、29.3%、24.6%，A组前列腺体积缩小比例>B组和C组（均P<0.01）。PAE术后1个月，A、B、C三组前列腺缺血比例均与术后12个月前列腺体积缩小比例呈正相关（r=0.699，P=0.024；r=0.719，P=0.019；r=0.821，P=0.004），二者与术后12个月IPSS评分改善情况呈正相关（0.580 ml的BPH患者更适合行PAE。PAE术后前列腺缺血比例及前列腺体积缩小比例可预测PAE疗效。.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP), detrusor wall thickness (DWT), prostate volume (PV) and serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels for detecting bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) and predicting acute urinary retention (AUR) secondary to benign prostatic obstruction.
METHODS: In all, 135 men who presented with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic enlargement were enrolled in the study; among them, 50 presented with AUR. Thirty normal men in the same age group were included and represented a control group for normative data. Their evaluation included a digital rectal examination, International Prostate Symptom Score and quality-of-life question, uroflowmetry and serum total PSA assay. Transabdominal ultrasonography was used to measure the PV, IPP DWT and post-void residual urine volume. Pressure-flow urodynamic studies were used as the reference standard test for BOO, differentiating obstructed from unobstructed bladders. DWT, IPP, PV and total PSA level served as index tests. To compare the usefulness of the various indices, the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver-operator characteristic curves was calculated for each index.
RESULTS: According to presentation and urodynamic studies, patients were classified into three groups: Group 1 (no BOO), 50 patients with a BOO index (BOOI) of <40; group 2 (BOO), 35 with a BOOI of >40; and group 3 (AUR), 50 who presented with AUR. The IPP, DWT, PV and PSA levels differed significantly between obstructed and unobstructed patients, with a significant correlation with the BOOI. The AUC for IPP, DWT, PSA and PV were 0.885, 0.783, 0.745 and 0.678, respectively. The IPP threshold at 8 mm provided the best diagnostic accuracy (80%) for detecting BOO, followed by combined DWT and IPP (77.6%). Between patients with and without AUR, there was a highly significant difference in IPP, DWT and PSA; a combined IPP threshold of >8 mm and DWT >2 mm detected AUR in 45 of 50 patients (90%).
CONCLUSIONS: All four noninvasive indices were correlated significantly with BOOI. The IPP as a single variable and combined with DWT predicted BOO and AUR better than PSA or PV.