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Many men with abnormal results after serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening undergo prostate biopsy. In this prospective substudy of the ProtecT study, U.K. investigators assessed adverse events associated with transrectal ultrasound–guided prostate biopsy in asymptomatic men with elevated screening PSA levels. Between 1999 and 2008, 11,000 ProtecT participants (age range, 50–69) with serum PSA levels ≥3 ng/mL were offered prostate biopsy; 1147 underwent the procedure.
Within 35 days after biopsy, 44% of the men experienced pain, 18% fever, 66% hematuria, 37% hematochezia, and 93% hematospermia. Only 2% experienced no symptoms, but few rated the severity of their symptoms as moderate or major (pain 7%, fever 6%, hematuria 6%, hemato…