Postoperative urethral stricture prevention through irrigation with 5-fluorouracil using a modified urinary catheter

A recent study indicated the effectiveness of the antiproliferative drug 5-fluorouracil when paired with a modified catheter in relation to the development of postoperative urethral strictures. The findings of this study were published in the journal, Medicina (Kaunas). 
In this study, there were 246 male subjects (average age of 70.0 ± 8.0 years). The main study group comprised 124 patients who, along with the standard therapy, were subjected to lavage with a 5-fluorouracil solution (1000 mg/20 mL per 500 mL of 0.9% isotonic saline solution) utilizing a modified 3-way urethral catheter. Monitoring of laboratory, clinical, and instrumental parameters was performed at ten days, three months, and six months following the surgical procedure.
Throughout the follow-up period, the IPSS scale was used to assess the severity of dysuria symptoms in patients. The main group exhibited a significant decrease in stranguria and ischuria, along with a longer interval between urinations, urinary incontinence, straining before urination, and reduced intermittent urination compared to the control group. Both study groups reported an improvement in their quality of life. Additionally, there was a notable decrease in the maximum urinary flow rate in the main study group (p value < 0.001). In the control group, urethral strictures and stenosis cases increased from four to nine after three and six months, respectively. Only one patient in the main study group had infravesical obstruction [0.8%] (χ2 = 3.855, p value < 0.05).
The above study demonstrated the effectiveness of the antiproliferative medication 5-fluorouracil in combination with an adapted catheter in relation to postoperative urethral stricture development.