Pad Weight, Pad Number, and Incontinence-Related Patient-Reported Outcome Measures After Radical Prostatectomy

Objectives To evaluate the correlation between 3- and 6-week postoperative 24-hour pad weight, daily pad number, and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaires for Male Lower Urinary Tract (ICIQ-MLUTS), ICIQ-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) and UCLA Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) in patients undergoing robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Methods This prospective study included patients undergoing RARP between February and November 2019. Patients completed a 24-hour pad test, assessing pad weight and number, and 3 validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs); the ICIQ-MLUTS, ICIQ-SF and UCLA-PCI, preoperatively and at 3 and 6 weeks postoperatively. Results A total of 47 patients were included in the study. There was a strong correlation between 24-hour pad weight and the ICIQ-SF at 3 weeks (r = 0.71, P < 0.001) and 6 weeks (r = 0.68, P < 0.001). There was a strong correlation between 24-hour pad weight and ICIQ-MLUTS incontinence (r = 0.80, P < 0.01) and incontinence QoL burden (r = 0.79, P < 0.01) at 6 weeks. There was a moderate correlation between the 24-hour pad weight and UCLA-PCI urinary function (r = 0.58, P < 0.001) and urinary QoL burden (r = 0.66, P < 0.001) at 6 weeks. The correlation between pad number and 24-hour pad weight was weak at 6 weeks (r = 0.34, P < 0.001). Conclusion PROMs may be used as a substitute for the 24-hour pad weight test for post-prostatectomy incontinence (PPI) assessments in the early post-RARP period. The ICIQ-SF and UCLA-PCI urinary function and QoL scores correlate with 24-hour pad weight. However, the ICIQ-MLUTS incontinence and QoL scores provide the strongest correlation with PPI.