To re-assess the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System (ASA grade) as predictive factors of complications after transurethral resection of prostate.

This study retrospectively included and analyzed consecutive patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate at Peking University First Hospital between 1992 and 2013. A multivariate analysis was conducted to evaluate the connection of the ASA and CCI grades with the incidence of complications.

This paper studied 2326 cases in total. The CCI and ASA grades were significantly correlated, with a Spearman ρ of 0.245 (P <.001). No considerable differences among the patient cohorts with different CCI or ASA grades were observed in terms of day of catheter removal, surgical time, and prostate size. In addition, no considerable differences were observed in the different modified Clavien classification system scores of complications among patient cohorts with different grades of CCI.

The majority of complications (86.9%) were of grades I, II, and III, whereas grade IV was less frequent (12.1%), and, after transurethral resection of the prostate, grade V was rare (1%). Males with an ASA grade ≥3 and higher CCI scores were more likely to demonstrate a higher incidence of morbidity than males with a lower grade. However, ASA grades and CCI scores were not independent predictors of complications because of the experience of the surgeon and progress in perioperative management and operative techniques. Therefore, for patients with more comorbidities and higher CCI scores or ASA grades, active surgical intervention is still suggested.