Evaluation of symptoms in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common cause of voiding dysfunction in elderly men. With the age related demographic changes in the western world, the epidemiological and economical burden of BPH is anticipated to increase. BPH is clinically diagnosed on a variety of more or less well defined symptomatic, macroscopical, and physiological criteria, whereas the histological diagnosis is straightforward. Yet, no symptom is specific for BPH and numerous other diseases have to be considered when a patient presents with symptoms of bladder outlet obstruction. A BPH questionnaire is useful when weighing the pros and cons for intervention. Furthermore, a symptom index represents a valuable indicator for the quality of care provided. Through the last decades a number of BPH questionnaires have been introduced. This article scrutinizes various BPH indices and provides an introduction to the prerequisites of clinical questionnaires.