Application of the decisional regret scale (DRS) in men undergoing anti-incontinence procedures for stress urinary incontinence

Background: Decisional regret (DR) has previously been applied to other urologic issues (hypospadias, prostate cancer). The present study seeks to evaluate certain patient factors that directly correlate to high DR scores in anti-incontinence procedures.

Methods: Medical records for 119 patients undergoing anti-incontinence procedures between 2009 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-one patients were accessible for telephone follow-up and provided a Decisional Regret Scale (DRS) questionnaire. If patients had both a sling and an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) placed, questionnaires were administered for each. DRS score was quantified in accordance with prior literature, with scores ranging 0-100. We subdivided patients based on demographics and surgical data, correlating this with DRS score.

Results: In 41 patients, 46 procedures (13 slings, 33 AUS) were performed. Thirty-nine (95.1%) men underwent robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy, and 11 (26.8%) men reported prior pelvic radiation. Post-procedural continence, irrespective of procedure, yielded an average 2±1.56 pads per day (PPD). Mean DRS score across the cohort was 29.78. DRS score was subdivided into mild, moderate, and severe, with majority noting "none to mild" regret (63%), 15.2% reporting moderate and 21.7% severe. Predictors of higher regret included history of radiation (P=0.056), choice of anti-incontinence procedure (P=0.011), and need for surgical revision (P=0.00042). DR was unrelated to race, complete continence, and time to follow-up.

Conclusions: DRS has recently been applied to anti-incontinence procedures for male stress incontinence; our study highlights novel findings not previously assessed. Majority of men had minimal regret with a subset that had significant regret-history of radiation, multiple revisions/explant, and those who elected for sling upfront. These results highlight the importance of patient selection and pre-operative counselling.