Effects of poloxamer-based thermo-sensitive sol-gel agent on urethral stricture after transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia: a multicentre, single-blinded, randomised controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of poloxamer-based thermo-sensitive sol-gel instillation, after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), for preventing urethral stricture. Patients and methods In all, 198 patients underwent TURP for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Recruited patients were randomly divided into two groups: groups A and B. Patients in Group A (100 patients, experimental group) received poloxamer-based thermo-sensitive sol-gel instillation and patients in the Group B (98 patients, control group) received lubricant instillation after TURP. Each patient was evaluated at 4 (V1), 12 (V2), and 24 weeks (V3) after TURP. The effectiveness of poloxamer-based thermo-sensitive sol-gel instillation was evaluated based on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), IPSS-Quality of Life (QoL), Overactive bladder questionnaire (OAB-q), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax ), post-void residual urine volume (PVR), and cystoscopy. Results Amongst the initial 198 participants, 80 patients in Group A and 83 in Group B completed the study. There were no significant differences in IPSS-QoL and OAB-q between the groups. However, Qmax was significantly different between groups A and B, at a mean (SD) of 18.92 (9.98) vs 15.58 (9.24) mL/s (P = 0.028) at 24 weeks after TURP. On cystoscopic examination, urethral stricture after TURP was found in two of the 80 patients in Group A and 10 of 83 in Group B (P = 0.023). Conclusions Poloxamer-based thermo-sensitive sol-gel instillation after TURP lowered the incidence of urethral stricture.