Lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with uterine fibroids: association with fibroid location and uterine volume.

OBJECTIVE

: To examine the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in women with symptomatic uterine fibroids and investigate their relationship with fibroid location and uterine volume.

METHODS

: This was a cross-sectional study including 78 women seeking surgical treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids. The validated Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptom-Scored Form (BFLUTS-SF) questionnaire was administered before surgical intervention. Uterine volume and BFLUTS-SF subscale scores or symptoms were compared using Student t test. Multivariate models explored the association between dominant fibroid location and BFLUTS-SF subscale scores.

RESULTS

: The most prevalent LUTS were nocturia (91%), urgency (59%), and urinary incontinence (45%-54%). Mean uterine volume and length were 672 ± 714 cm and 13 ± 4.24 cm, respectively. Women with moderate and severe urinary urgency had significantly larger uterine volumes (P = 0.017). Mean voiding subscale scores were significantly higher in women with dominant anterior fibroids compared with those with non-anterior fibroids (voiding subscale scores, 2.84 ± 3.03 vs 1.30 ± 2.07, respectively; P < 0.01). This remained significant after adjusting for age, parity, body mass index, and imaging modality.

CONCLUSIONS

: Lower urinary tract symptoms are prevalent in patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids. Further study is needed to determine if surgical therapy improves these LUTSs in this population.