Introduction

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is an urological disorder most common in men over 50 years old; the symptoms affect the quality of life. Alpha-adrenergic blockers are an option to improve it.

Objective

To determine the quality of life of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia before and after treatment with an alphaadrenergic blocker.

Material and methods

Pretest-retest study in men of 45 to 75 years with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Tamsulosin was administered (0.4 mg/day) for three months; the severity of symptoms and quality of life were assessed with IPSS and EuroQol 5-D. Ranges and sign of Wilcoxon test and X2 were used.

Results

Fifty patients were included of 63.3 ± 10.3 years of age, 34 (68.0%) had severe symptoms before the treatment and 19 (38.0%) after three months (p < 0.05). With IPSS, 33 (66.0%) patients were in the categories of «as dissatisfied as unsatisfied» and «very dissatisfied» before the intervention and six (12.0%) after. The VAS of the EuroQol 5-D showed a baseline score of 72.9 ± 11.2 versus 83.4 ± 7.6 after (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Tamsulosin reduces severity of symptoms and improves quality of life in benign prostatic hyperplasia after giving it three months.

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