Objectives: To study the technical opinion of an expert panel and reach a consensus of professional criterion in relation to the most recent scientific evidence in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) in the scopes of diagnosis, progression criteria, medical treatment and surgical treatment.
Material and methods: Systematized review of the literature of the last 10 years in BPH by means of a scientific committee and elaboration of a 64-question questionnaire divided into three strategic areas: 1.- Diagnosis and stratification of the patients with BPH considering the progression risk factors. 2.-Novelties in the medical treatment and 3.- New contributions in the surgical and minimally invasive treatment in BPH. A panel of 50 urologists standing out for their knowledge in BPH distributed throughout the national geographic area was chosen, establishing the Delphi methodology for the study through the application of two successive online surveys.
Results: The 50 experts consulted completed the two groups of the questionnaire. In the first, a consensus of criterion was observed in 50 out of the 64 questions analyzed, achieving a consensus in 59/65 (92.5%) in the second round, which included aspects of morbidity of the lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), diagnostic tests necessary in the initial evaluation of the specialist, stratification of the patients in relation to the risk of progression, strategies of step-by-step medical therapy and combination in patients with risk of Acute Urinary Retention (AUR) or surgery and of the indications of surgical therapy and the role of new less invasive treatments.
Conclusions: In a condition of the high prevalence of BPH, in which we have seen important changes in its entire spectrum in recent years, the obtaining of an elevated consensus to which a large number of reference specialists in this condition have contributed will be of great importance for the usual clinical management of this disease.
Copyright © 2012 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.