Publication:

Prazolin as a treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy: a study in a tertiary care centre

Background Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is one of the most common disorders effecting elderly men resulting in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including urinary frequency, retention, nocturia, intermittent force of the urinary stream, sensation of incomplete bladder emptying etc. The medical treatment preferred of late is with alpha-1 blockers or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors or anti androgens. Prazosin, an older alpha-1 adrenergic blocker is considered a very useful drug in the treatment of PBH.

Methods 97 patients, above 45 years of age and diagnosed with mild to moderate benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms were included into the study. All patients were given prazosin 0.5 mg orally twice daily for a week. After 1 week, the night dose was increased to 1mg form 0.5 mg while the morning dose remained as 0.5 mg. All the patients were asked to record their symptoms for three days before each visit to the hospital. The parameters to record were nocturia, frequency, urgency, straining, force of urine and decreased force of urine, intermittency, and sensation of the urine residue. All these parameters were recorded on a scale of 0-5, where 0 is the total absence of symptoms and 5 is the most severe symptom.

Results There was an improvement in the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure after 4 weeks of treatment. There was marked improvement in the urine output in the patients after 4 weeks of treatment. There was reduction in the nocturis and the frequency of urine by the patient. There was significant reduction in the urgency and the hesitancy of the urine. About 71 (80%) patients showed improvement in the sense of residual urine by the patients, while 66(74%)  showed improvement in the terminal dribbling of urine. 65 (73%) of the patients showed relief from prolonged micturation, while nocturia and day time frequency showed improvement in over 60% of the cases.

Conclusions We therefore conclude that prazosin is also a very effective drug for the treatment of BPH, in terms of the urine outflow and decreased frequency and nocturia.

Background Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is one of the most common disorders effecting elderly men resulting in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including urinary frequency, retention, nocturia, intermittent force of the urinary stream, sensation of incomplete bladder emptying etc. The medical treatment preferred of late is with alpha-1 blockers or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors or anti androgens. Prazosin, an older alpha-1 adrenergic blocker is considered a very useful drug in the treatment of PBH.

Methods 97 patients, above 45 years of age and diagnosed with mild to moderate benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms were included into the study. All patients were given prazosin 0.5 mg orally twice daily for a week. After 1 week, the night dose was increased to 1mg form 0.5 mg while the morning dose remained as 0.5 mg. All the patients were asked to record their symptoms for three days before each visit to the hospital. The parameters to record were nocturia, frequency, urgency, straining, force of urine and decreased force of urine, intermittency, and sensation of the urine residue. All these parameters were recorded on a scale of 0-5, where 0 is the total absence of symptoms and 5 is the most severe symptom.

Results There was an improvement in the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure after 4 weeks of treatment. There was marked improvement in the urine output in the patients after 4 weeks of treatment. There was reduction in the nocturis and the frequency of urine by the patient. There was significant reduction in the urgency and the hesitancy of the urine. About 71 (80%) patients showed improvement in the sense of residual urine by the patients, while 66(74%)  showed improvement in the terminal dribbling of urine. 65 (73%) of the patients showed relief from prolonged micturation, while nocturia and day time frequency showed improvement in over 60% of the cases.

Conclusions We therefore conclude that prazosin is also a very effective drug for the treatment of BPH, in terms of the urine outflow and decreased frequency and nocturia.