Clinical efficacy of a rehabilitation management protocol for urinary incontinence after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application of a rehabilitation management protocol for urinary incontinence after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 114 patients who underwent RALP between August 2021 and November 2021 as the control group and a prospective analysis of 114 patients who underwent RALP between May 2022 and August 2022 as the experimental group. The rehabilitation management protocol focused on preoperative stage, postoperative care, day of catheter removal, 1 month postoperative, 3 months postoperative, 6 months postoperative, and 12 months or more postoperative. RESULTS: The 24-h pad test was significantly lower in the experimental group compared with the control group at 2 and 6 months after RALP (both P < 0.01). The scores of the international consultation on incontinence questionnaire-short form (ICIQ-SF) in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group at 1 month after RALP (P < 0.01).The scores of quality of life in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group at 1, 2, and 6 months after RALP (all P < 0.01).The scores of Broome Pelvic Muscle Self-efficacy Scale (BPMSES) were lower than those of the control group at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after RALP (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The application of the rehabilitation management protocol had significant beneficial effects on urinary functions and quality of life in patients with prostate cancer after RALP.