Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy safe and effective for urinary retention in catheterized BPH patients

Greece: Researchers from Athens, Greece found that Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy is a safe, effective, minimally invasive, and feasible procedure for managing urinary retention secondary to benign prostate hyperplasia in catheterized patients. The study results were published in the journal World Journal of Urology.  

 Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a nonmalignant growth or hyperplasia of prostate tissue that causes lower urinary tract symptoms due to bladder outflow obstruction and is a common condition in aging males. The most challenging issue with BPH is recurrent urinary retention, requiring permanent catheterization. Rezūm is a minimally invasive treatment for BPH where sterile water vapor injections are given directly into the prostate. Theodoros Spinos, Ioannis Katafigiotis, et al from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to report the safety and the efficacy of Rezūm regarding urinary retention relief and permanent catheter withdrawal. 

Databases like PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane were meticulously screened using certain keywords like "Rezum", "retention" and "permanent catheter". Human studies and articles in English only were included. Patients who underwent Rezūm as the only intervention employed were included. Any prior interventions undergone by the patients like transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) for the relief of their symptoms were not included. Patients' baseline characteristics along with intraoperative and postoperative parameters were collected and analyzed. The primary outcome was catheter relief. 

Findings: 

• For the final qualitative synthesis, only five studies fulfilled all the criteria and were included. 
• Out of 5 studies, 4 studies were retrospective and one was prospective.
• All studies were non-comparative.
• The success rate ranged from 70.3 to 100%, while no grade ≥ III Clavien–Dindo complications were reported in any of the studies.

Thus, Rezūm water vapor therapy was found to be a safer procedure, especially in frail ones with comorbidities who cannot undergo general anesthesia.

Further reading: Spinos, T., Katafigiotis, I., Leotsakos, I. et al. Rezūm water vapor therapy for the treatment of patients with urinary retention and permanent catheter dependence secondary to benign prostate hyperplasia: a systematic review of the literature. World J Urol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-022-04258-y