Validity of the "bother score" in the evaluation and treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a condition that is common among older men. It causes a variety of clinically significant lower urinary tract signs and symptoms. BPH is rarely life-threatening; the decision to seek treatment is frequently based on the degree to which patients find the symptoms bothersome and disruptive of daily activities. Recently developed reliable and valid outcome measures to evaluate treatments for BPH are clinical tools that urologists can use to determine the extent of bother and make treatment decisions. A single question used to determine the "bother score" provides a widely used and statistically valid measure of the need for treatment of BPH. Validation data support the argument that the bother score is a statistically reliable measure of treatment outcome in patients with BPH who view their symptoms as bothersome.