Medical outcomes research and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Increasing health care costs and growing interest in quality care have focused attention on medical outcomes research. With regard to symptomatic BPH, patients deciding between different treatment choices need to know the likely outcomes of these alternatives, including chances for symptom responses and improved functional health and well-being. There is a paucity of high-quality outcomes research in medicine, including research that would clarify treatment outcomes for BPH. The relationship between physiologic and anatomic bladder outlet obstruction due to BPH and its symptoms, as well as quality of life, needs further study to elucidate how BPH affects health. A number of ongoing studies should provide information on the outcomes of alternative treatment strategies for BPH, the relationship between anatomic and physiologic BPH, and higher-level outcomes, such as symptom levels and quality of life.