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Symptom Indices and Quality-of-Life Questionnaires for Use in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

  • Review Article
  • Guidelines
  • Published:
Disease Management & Health Outcomes

Summary

The objective of this paper is to review available benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)-specific, symptoms-based and quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaires to provide researchers and clinicians with descriptive information on their content and psychometric properties (construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and sensitivity to change). This will provide a basis for selecting instruments for use in research and clinical practice.

11 questionnaires were found in a literature search [Boyarsky Scoring System, Madsen-Iversen Scoring System, Maine Medical Assessment Program (MMAP) Symptom Index, Epstein’s Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire, American Urological Association/International Prostate Symptom Score (AUA-7/I-PSS) BPH Symptom Index, Eri’s Visual Analogue Scale, the Danish Prostatic Symptom Score, the French BPH-specific Quality-of-Life Scale, Barry’s Symptom Problem Index (SPI), Barry’s BPH Impact Index (BII), and the International Continence Society Male (ICSm) Questionnaire].

Frequency, intermittency, urgency, stream, strain and nocturia were the symptoms most frequently included in these instruments. Validity, reliability and sensitivity to change had been assessed for the majority of instruments but the extent and thoroughness of this testing varied greatly. There are numerous validated instruments for use with BPH patients. The choice of instrument should be based on the requirements of particular studies, or on clinical grounds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Universitari de Salut Publica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Xavier Badía (Head of Research Services), Mateu Serra & Michael Herdman

  2. Medical Department, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Madrid, Spain

    Manuel García-Losa

  3. Department of Urology, Hospital Universitario Clínica Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain

    Joaquín Carballido

Authors
  1. Xavier Badía
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  2. Manuel García-Losa
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  3. Mateu Serra
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  4. Joaquín Carballido
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  5. Michael Herdman
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Correspondence to Xavier Badía.

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Badía, X., García-Losa, M., Serra, M. et al. Symptom Indices and Quality-of-Life Questionnaires for Use in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Dis-Manage-Health-Outcomes 2, 291–301 (1997). https://doi.org/10.2165/00115677-199702060-00004

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