The Biopsychosocial Burden of Prostate Biopsy

Prostate biopsy was offered to 47 consecutive patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over 4 ng/dl or suspicious digital rectal examination (DRE) of whom 16 had undergone a biopsy. Comprehensive validated questionnaires at TIME 0 (pre-biopsy), TIME 1 (before diagnosis, 20 days after biopsy) and TIME 2 (after diagnosis, 40 days after biopsy) accessed patients' erectile (IIEF-5) and voiding (IPSS) functions, Beck scales measured anxiety (BAI), hopelessness (BHS) and depression (BDI), added to the emotional thermometers including five visual analog scales for distress, anxiety, depression, anger and need for help. Mann-Whitney or Friedman tests were obtained among times and studied variables.