PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eighteen male patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in our service
between March 18, 2020 and April 5, 2020, and who had previously known
BPH and who used alpha-blockers and/or five alpha-reductase inhibitors
were included in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with
the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the local hospital manager.
Oral consent was obtained from patients or relatives. Patients whose
information could not be reached through their medical record, who had
previous prostate surgery, whose prostate specific antigen (PSA) value
was higher than 4 ng/mL and who never consulted an urology physician
despite having complaints of lower urinary system were excluded from the
study. All patients included in the study had laboratory-confirmed
SARS-CoV-2 infection via sputum or nasopharyngeal swab samples evaluated
through SARS-CoV2 nucleic acid RT-PCR. Whether the patient had BPH or
not was investigated through the patient information system (Health
Information System). A detailed history of all patients was taken and it
was found that alpha blockers and/or five alpha-reductase inhibitors
were prescribed by the urologist. Our hospitals are reference pandemic
centers in Istanbul where there are the most SARS-CoV-2 cases in our
country. Clinical, radiological data, underlying comorbidities,
laboratory findings during hospitalization, treatment, complications and
outcomes data were collected and analyzed retrospectively.
Epidemiological data such as age, body mass index (BMI), exposure to
source of transmission, incubation period (defined as the time from
exposure to source of transmission to onset of symptom), and familial
cluster were collected. Clinical symptoms and comorbid diseases were
questioned and recorded. In our clinic, standard treatments were applied
and recorded according to the risk group, which was frequently revised
according to current data, together with the scientific committee of our
Ministry of Health. All possible complications (lymphopenia, hypoxemia,
shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), arrhythmia, acute
kidney injury, acute liver injury and acute cardiac injury) were
recorded during their stay in the hospital.