title: Evaluation of the clinical indications, adverse drug reactions, and finasteride use in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia in Poland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) is one of the most common urinary disorders in elderly men. The symptoms of the disease include prostate gland enlargement, bladder outlet obstruction, and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs). BPH predisposes patients to bladder infections and bladder stone formation and increases their risk of urinary retention, which in turn causes renal failure. Hence, the disease requires surgical treatment. However, over the recent years, the number of surgical interventions performed in pharmacotherapy has significantly reduced because of the increased efficacy of conservative therapy, including combination treatment mostly with 2 groups of drugs, namely, alpha-1-adrenolitics and other 5-alpha-reductase blockers, with a different pharmacological activity [5]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical indications, adverse drug reactions, and finasteride use in patients with diagnosed BPH in Poland.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a clinical trial from November 2009 to November 2010 that included 5751 patients who were enrolled in 46 urological centres in Poland. The researchers who conducted the clinical trial were urologists from different regions of Poland. The clinical trial involved 6 follow-up visits. The mean age of the patients was 67 years (range, 45-93 years; median, 67.00; SD, 8.507). The inclusion criteria were as follows: LUTSs, finasteride therapy for at least 2 weeks, age>40 years, and BPH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients self-reported data on LUTSs, the symptom frequency, concurrent diseases, and intensification of urinary system symptoms. In addition, additional examinations were performed, including prostate-specific antigen test, urinary tract ultrasonography with evaluation of residual urine and prostate, and uroflowmetry. The study did not exclude data on the combined treatment with finasteride and alpha-1-adrenolitics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Finasteride was demonstrated to be effective, as evidenced by the significant decrease in TPV by 40% even after 12 months. It was also found to contribute to the attenuation of LUTSs, improvement in maximum flow rate, decrease in nocturia, and improvement in QoL.
authors.affiliation: Urology Clinic of the Military Medical Institute, Warszawa, Poland. Electronic address: urodent@wp.pl.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ząbkowski
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018120:Finasteride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D018120:Finasteride
keywords: Adverse drug reaction; Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Efficiency; Finasteride; Prostate