Application of the Clinical Pathway for Transurethral Resection of Prostate

Purpose: The purpose of a clinical pathway (CP) is to standardize the clinical practice of specialists to optimize the medical care. The objective of this study is to develop CP for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and to evaluate the results of the CP. Materials and Methods: 18 patients with BPH and who were managed according to the CP between November 2006 and April 2007 were compared with 38 patients, for whom this pathway had not been used between the period of November 2005 to October 2006. The patients had no other disease except benign prostatic hyperplasia. The results such as the operative time, the resection volume, the length of the hospital stay, the complication rates, the catheter indwelling time and the maximal flow rate were compared between the CP group and the non-CP group. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between both groups for the postoperative complication rates (p=0.683). With the application of the clinical pathway, the mean duration of the hospital stay and the catheter indwelling time were significantly lower for the CP group than that for the non-CP group (p<0.001). Statistically, there were no significant differences of the maximal flow rate and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) between the two groups. All members of the CP group were satisfied with the application of the CP. Conclusions: The application of the clinical pathway for patients undergoing transurethral resection of prostate has reduced the catheter indwelling time and the length of the hospital stay. This improves the bed use and hospital efficiency while it also results in a higher level of patient satisfaction. Furthermore, reducing the variability of medical care has improved its quality. (Korean J Urol 2008;49:330-336) 󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏