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Purpose: To evaluate change in quality of life (QoL) and symptoms in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) in conditions of current clinical practice., Methods: Prospective, longitudinal, multicenter open-label study was carried out in urology outpatient clinics. Patients were ≥40 years of age with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) score ≥ 8. QoL and symptoms were measured at baseline and 6 months using the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Impact Index (BII) and the IPSS., Results: 1713 patients were included for analysis. Mean (SD) IPSS and BII scores at baseline were 16.8 (5.4) and 6.8 (2.6), respectively. 8.9 % (n = 153) of study participants did not receive treatment (watchful waiting, WW), 70.3 % (n = 1204) were prescribed monotherapy (alpha-adrenergic blockers [AB]; phytotherapy [PT, of which 95.2 % was the hexanic extract of Serenoa repens, HESr]; or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors [5ARI]), and 20.8 % (n = 356) received combined treatment (AB + 5ARI; AB + HESr; others). At 6 months, improvements in QoL were similar across the different medical treatment (MT) groups, both for monotherapy (AB: mean improvement [SD] of 2.4 points [2.4]; PT: 1.9 [2.4]; 5ARI: 2.5 [2.3]) and combined therapy (AB + 5ARI: 3.1 [2.9]; AB + PT: 3.1 [2.5]). There were no clinically significant differences between MT groups and all showed significant improvement over WW (p < 0.05). HESr showed similar efficacy to AB and 5ARI both as monotherapy and in combination with AB. Results on the IPSS were similar., Conclusions: Improvements in QoL and symptoms were equivalent across the medical treatments most widely used in real-life practice to manage patients with moderate or severe LUTS. HESr showed an equivalent efficacy to AB and 5ARI with fewer side effects.

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are a frequent cause of consultation in Primary Care, especially in men >40 years of age. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been recognized as the most common cause of bothersome LUTS, causing significant interference with everyday activities and quality of life. The purpose of this study is to provide an update on recent developments regarding the medical management of male LUTS., (Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)