Role for intravesical prostatic protrusion in lower urinary tract symptom: a fluid structural interaction analysis study

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies indicated that Intravesical prostatic protrusion is relevant to prognosis of LUTS, however, the confounding effect that is brought about by prostate volume, urethra anterior curvature angle and other factors makes it hard to evaluate the role of intravesical prostatic protrusion in clinical observation. METHODS: We proposed a fluid structural interaction analysis approach. 3D models were constructed based on MRI images, and prostatic urethra diameters were calibrated with urodynamic data. Comparisons of urine flow dynamics were made between models with various degree of intravesical prostatic protrusion, while the intravesical pressure, anterior urethra curvature angle and diameter of prostatic urethra were same among all models to rule out their confounding effects. RESULTS: Simulation result showed that the decrement of diameter and increment of variation in cross-sectional area for prostatic urethra were related to the degree of intravesical prostatic protrusion. Such deformation would lead to deterioration of flow efficiency and could compromise the effect of bladder outlet obstruction alleviation treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results provided further evidence for intravesical prostatic protrusion being an independent risk factor for bladder outlet obstruction severity and demonstrated that intravesical prostatic protrusion would be a promising marker in clinical decision making. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12894-015-0081-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.