Studies that reported on bleeding complications in patients taking antiplatelet agents, and undergoing ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate, were eligible for inclusion. The specific outcomes of interest were haematuria, rectal bleeding and haematospermia. The authors' own case series of 477 patients from various referral hospitals between January 2008 and March 2011 was eligible for inclusion.
Included studies were conducted in Europe, with two located in the United Kingdom. Studies comprised patients taking aspirin as an antiaggregant agent. The analysis compared those taking aspirin (mean age 67.3 years) and those not taking aspirin (mean age 64.6 years). Bleeding complications were also reported as mild, moderate or severe. The authors referred to variation in the methods of reporting bleeding complications in the included studies.
Two reviewers selected the studies for inclusion. Disagreements were resolved by a third reviewer.