Real life practice in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia

To review the current diagnostic and treatment options of lower urinary tract symptom due to benign prostatic hyperplasia and to put data from real life practice into perspective.

The overall incidence rate of lower urinary tract symptom/benign prostatic hyperplasia was found at 15 per 1000 man-years (95% CI 14.8-16.1). The incidence increases with age from 3/1000 man-years at 45-49 years to 38/1000 man-years at 75-79 years. Recent diagnostic studies include the use of PSA to estimate prostate volume and its predictive value for the long-term risk of prostate enlargement. Variability of the International Prostate Symptom Score when filled at home and in the hospital is discussed. The first-line treatment option remains medical therapy. The most prescribed alpha-blockers are terazosin, alfuzosin, and tamsulosin, which are comparable in efficacy. The efficacy of finasteride is also confirmed, especially for enlarged prostates with the possibility of volume reduction up to 30%. Interventional therapy begins when there is evidence of moderate to severe symptoms. Long term results put transurethral microwave thermotherapy in advantage over other minimally invasive modalities. Surgical treatment remains the procedure with the best results. Open prostatectomy is still indicated for severely enlarged prostates. Transurethral resection for medium-sized prostates and bladder-neck incision for small prostates also remain the best option.

Real life practice studies in the last few years have broadened our insight into the application of different diagnostic and treatment modalities. Since results from randomized controlled trials can not always be extrapolated to daily urological practice, real life practice studies made data available to complement data from randomized controlled trials.