Evaluation of recent trends in treatment patterns among men with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Although there is an abundance of evidence regarding clinical efficacy and safety of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) treatment, real-world evidence is lacking for pharmacotherapy utilization and trends. It is unclear how evidence demonstrating the efficacy of combination 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and alpha blockers for improving symptoms and reducing risk of disease progression translates into real-world practice for the treatment of BPH. A retrospective study of a database was conducted to describe pharmacotherapy utilization/trends in the treatment of BPH among patients in the managed care setting. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, the final sample size was 107,038. The proportion of patients with BPH receiving 5-alpha reductase inhibitors therapy increased (21.1% in 2003 to 30.5% in 2007), as did the proportion receiving combination therapy (10.7% and 16.1%, respectively). We observed an almost 50% increase in 5-alpha reductase inhibitors use over 5 years and a 60% increase in the use of combination 5-alpha reductase inhibitors/alpha blockers therapy.