Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

The purpose of the current study was to investigate Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. 

In this cross-sectional study, 203 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 based on the positive results of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests of oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs were enrolled. None of the patients were on diuretic drugs, anticholinergic agents, and alpha blockers. Patients with a history of LUTS, urethral stenosis, neurogenic bladder, urinary tract infection, and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) were excluded from the study. Questions about basic characteristics and de novo LUTS were asked from each patient and the answers were recorded. 

De novo lower urinary tract symptoms were identified in 30 (14.7%) patients, 23 males and 7 females indicating a significant difference in terms of sex (p=0.005). The most frequent urinary tract symptom was frequency which was reported in 21 patients. 

There is no clear explanation on the relationship between LUTS and SARS-CoV-2. However, the potential ability of the virus for causing viral cystitis may be a reasonable hypothesis. Therefore, still further studies are required to determine the role of COVID-19 virus in urinary tract symptoms.