Measure Description
Percentage of patients with an office visit within the measurement period and with a new diagnosis of clinically significant Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia who have International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) or American Urological Association (AUA) Symptom Index (SI) documented at time of diagnosis and again 6-12 months later with an improvement of 3 points
Rationale
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common conditions affecting older men, with a prevalence of 50% by age 60 years and 90% by the ninth decade of life (Medina et al., 1999). The enlarged gland had been proposed to contribute to the overall lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) complex (McVary et al., 2014). Although LUTS secondary to BPH is not often a life-threatening condition, the impact of LUTS/BPH on quality of life can be significant (Wei et al., 2005). The American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) were developed to measure outcomes in studies of different treatments for BPH (Wuerstle et al., 2011). The IPSS uses the same questions as the AUA-SI, but also adds a disease-specific quality of life question (OLeary, 2005). The IPSS was adopted in 1993 by the World Health Organization. It is a reproducible, validated index designed to determine disease severity and response to therapy (D’Silva et al., 2014). It includes 3 storage symptom questions (frequency, nocturia, urgency) and four voiding symptoms (feeling of incomplete emptying, intermittency, straining, and a weak stream) as well as a Bother question: If you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition just the way it is now, how would you feel about that? A three-point improvement in the score is considered meaningful (McVary et al., 2014).
Clinical Recommendation Statements
The symptoms of BPH are lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). There are other disorders with similar symptoms that need to be excluded. History, physical examination, and testing are required prior to a diagnosis of BPH. IPSS by itself is not a reliable diagnostic tool for LUTS suggestive of BPH, but serves as a quantitative measure of LUTS after the diagnosis is established (D’Silva et al., 2014). Medical and surgical interventions for BPH recommend a follow up IPSS evaluation to determine effectiveness of treatment. IPSS should be evaluated at the time of diagnosis and after definitive treatment.