Relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms and inguinal hernia.

AIM: To determine the relationship between inguinal hernia (and inguinal hernia subtypes) and low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), that could be more common than we think.

METHOD: The study was designed retrospectively and was done in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, including 100 patients aged > 50 years that were divided into 2 groups: patients with BPH (BPH group) and patients with BPH and inguinal hernia (BPH-IH group 2). In addition, the BPH-IH group was subdivided according to 2 inguinal hernia subtypes; patients of BPH-IH subgroup A had direct inguinal hernia (n = 25) and those of BPH-IH subgroup B had indirect inguinal hernia (n = 25).

RESULTS: There was no statistical relationship and difference in rates between IPSS scores in both groups (p = 0.659) and there wasn't a significant correlation between IPSS symptom severity and type of hernia, based on chi square analysis (p = 0.104) Conclusion: We were not able to prove our hypothesis that patients with inguinal hernia and BPH would have higher IPSS scores because of voiding dysfunction.