title: Actual medical management of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia: temporal trends of prescription and hospitalization rates over 5 years in a large population of Italian men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study is to estimate the trends in drug prescriptions and the hospitalization rates for lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) in real-life clinical practice, using information deriving from administrative databases of the Italian health care system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prescription data on approximately 1,500,000 men over 40 were examined, and prescribed boxes of alpha-blockers (ABs) and/or 5 alpha reductase inhibitors (5ARI) were calculated for 5 consecutive years, from 2004 to 2008. Annual use prevalence and incidence rates for each drug class and for the combination therapy (CT) were calculated according to age for the entire study period. Hospitalization rates for reasons related to LUTS/BPH were also evaluated for the same time period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall distribution of drugs for LUTS/BPH, in terms of number of boxes prescribed, increased by 43 %. This increase was accounted for by both classes of drugs although it was greater for 5ARI than for AB (+49 vs +41 %). The prevalence of CT showed a substantial increase to almost 25 % in patients aged ≥75. Hospitalization rate for BPH/LUTS-related reasons decreased during the study period (8 and 3 % per year for non-surgical and surgical reasons, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of the use of drugs prescribed for LUTS/BPH has steadily increased. An increase in terms of prescribed boxes was observed for both classes of drugs, even though the increase was greater for 5ARIs. The reduction in the hospitalization rates needs additional researches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, "S.Pio da Pietrelcina" Hospital, Vasto, Italy, lucacindolo@virgilio.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cindolo
authors.forename: Luisella
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pirozzi
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fanizza
authors.forename: Marilena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sountoulides
authors.forename: Claus G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Roehrborn
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mirone
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schips
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000639:trends; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D053448:Prostatism / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists