Abdominal straining in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

We evaluated 46 patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for abdominal straining associated with voiding. All patients were evaluated preoperatively by means of detailed symptom analysis, excretory urography, cystoscopy and urodynamic studies, including spontaneous uroflowmetry, medium fill water cystometry and pressure flow study. Of the patients 72 per cent strained preoperatively and the majority continued to strain 3 and 12 months postoperatively. No correlation was identified between straining and urodynamic or symptomatologic indicators of bladder outlet obstruction. Patients who strained and those who did not strain experienced neither subjective nor objective differences postoperatively. A positive correlation between straining and age was identified. We speculate that straining might be based on individual habits and that the tendency to strain increases with advancing age.