Patient reported complications after prostate brachytherapy

Purpose: Prostate brachytherapy has gained popularity due partly to the low rates of shortterm complications shown in studies from highly select clini cal practices. These series rely on medical records generated by the treati ng physician and are prone to underreport complications. We summarize the c omplication reports obtained directly from patients to establish a more rea listic incidence of treatment related problems. Materials and Methods: In 1997, 160 consecutive patients treated with prost ate brachytherapy at the University of Washington were studied. A questionn aire was designed to determine the rate of complications occurring within I year of the procedure. The questions were formulated for ease of use and c onciseness, while accounting for easily recalled events associated with com plications. A total of 147 (92%) patients completed the questionnaire. Results: There were 8 (5%) patients who required hospital admission for an average of 2 days (range 1 to 7) as a result of the procedure. A total of 5 6 (38%) patients required nonroutine visits with a physician in an office s etting or at an emergency room. Radiation proctitis diagnosed by endoscopy developed in 8 (5%) patients but no one needed surgical intervention. A tot al of 47 (32%) patients required urinary catheterization at some point afte r implantation. Conclusions: We demonstrated a higher rate of short-term complications than those previously reported. Fortunately, the majority of side effects were self-limited and no treatment related mortality or cardiovascular morbidity was seen. Our findings may provide a more realistic account of the complic ations likely to occur after implantation than might be surmised from previ ous reports.