Lower urinary tract symptoms

Lower urinary tract symptoms
Synonyms	LUTS, prostatism
Classification and external resources
[]

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) refer to a group of medical symptoms, that affect approximately 40% of older men. LUTS is a recent term for what used to be known as prostatism.

Symptoms can be categorised into:

As the symptoms are common and non-specific, LUTS is not necessarily a reason to suspect prostate cancer. Large studies of patients have also failed to show any correlation between lower urinary tract symptoms and a specific diagnosis.

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) can be used to gauge the symptoms, along with physician examination. Other primary and secondary tests are often carried out, such as a PSA (Prostate-specific antigen) test,urinalysis, ultrasound, urinary flow studies, imaging, temporary prostatic stent placement, prostate biopsy and/or cystoscopy.

Placement of a temporary prostatic stent as a differential diagnosis test can help identify whether LUTS symptoms are directly related to obstruction of the prostate or to other factors worth investigation.

A number of techniques to destroy part or all of the prostate have been developed. First line of treatment is medical, which includes alpha-1 blockade and antiandrogens. If the medical treatment fails, surgical techniques are done. Techniques include:

Other treatments include lifestyle advice, for example sitting down while urinating. A meta-analysis found that, for elderly males with LUTS:

This urodynamic profile is related to a lower risk of urologic complications, such as cystitis and bladder stones.

...
Wikipedia