Tamsulosin offers no advantage for postoperative voiding, discharge in hysterectomy patients

Treatment with a single dose of tamsulosin prior to minimally invasive hysterectomy for benign conditions does not shorten postoperative time to void or time to discharge, as reported in a study.

Researchers conducted a single-centre, block-randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind superiority trial to evaluate the effect of 0.4-mg tamsulosin compared with placebo on the time to void after hysterectomy.

A total of 150 patients who were scheduled to undergo outpatient minimally invasive hysterectomy were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of 0.4-mg tamsulosin or placebo an hour before the procedure. All patients participated in a standardized backfill void trial to eliminate discrepancies in bladder volume and ensure a more accurate assessment of voiding time.

The primary objective was to show a 30-minute reduction in the time to postoperative void (80 percent power, α<0.05). The time to discharge from the postanaesthesia care unit was also assessed.

Of the patients included in the study, 77 were in the tamsulosin group and 73 in the placebo group. The time to spontaneous void was 106 minutes in the tamsulosin group and 100 minutes in the placebo groups. The difference was not statistically significant (p=0.5).

Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in time to discharge from the postanaesthesia care unit, which was 144 minutes in the tamsulosin group vs 156 minutes in the placebo group (p=0.4).

Demographics and surgical parameters were comparable between the two groups.