Prevalence and Characteristics of Prostatic Utricles: A Retrospective MRI Study in Middle-Aged to Elderly Men.

Abstract

Background: Congenital urological malformations encompass a wide range of anomalies affecting the urinary tract and reproductive organs. MRI has emerged as a diagnostic tool in identifying these conditions. Prostatic utricle is an enlarged diverticulum in the posterior urethra, which results from incomplete degradation of the Müllerian ducts or decreased androgenic stimulation of the urogenital sinus. Prostatic utricle is an uncommon congenital anomalies, with 1% incidence in autopsy findings and clinical prevalence of 5% in urologic patients.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 5819 prostate MRI interpretations from 4990 unique patients. The primary objective was to identify congenital abnormalities, focusing on the presence of a utricle and other related anomalies. Prostates suspected to have utricles were reevaluated by genitourinary specialized radiologist and utricles size were measured.

Results: The study identified 127 patients positive for a utricle with an average age of 66 years at examination among the unique cohort. The average prostate size for patients with a utricle was 78.3 cc and the average utricle size was 0.4 cm³. Statistical analysis did not demonstrate any statistical trend between prostate size, age or PSA to utricle size. Additional congenital anomalies detected included one patient with a seminal vesicle cyst, one patient with right seminal vesicle agenesis and bilateral vas deferens agenesis, and two patients with ureterocele.

Conclusion: The prevalence of prostate utricle within a cohort of 4990 middle-aged to elderly men is 2.54%.