The Role of Alpha 1 (A) Adrenoceptor Antagonist Tamsulosin for the Treatment of Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: The Effect on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Nocturia / 대한비뇨기과학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Nocturia is considered to be the main cause of disturbance of sleep maintenance and the quality of life for elderly men. We assessed the effectiveness of administering alpha 1 (A)-adrenoceptor antagonist tamsulosin for the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and we measured the degree of improvement of the lower urinary tract symptoms and nocturia after treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From May 2003 to October 2003, 268 patients with BPH were prospectively selected for this study. The patients were treated with tamsulosin at a dose of 0.2mg/day. The effectiveness of tamsulosin was assessed by analyzing the three day voiding diaries and the other parameters, including the International Prostatic Symptom Score (I-PSS), the Bother score, the maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax), and the postvoid residual urine. The data for these parameters were acquired at baseline and after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. We investigated the differences in the improvement of noctuia in the BPH patients according to the type of nocturia. RESULTS: Of the 268 patients, 189 patients (70.5%) completed the study. The clinical parameters, including the I-PSS, the Bother score, the Qmax and the residual urine showed significant improvement from the baseline. The change of nocturnal frequency was 2.2 at baseline to 1.4 after 12 weeks of treatment. For the subgroups according to the type of nocturia, both the BPH only group and the nocturnal polyuria group showed improvement in the nocturnal frequency and the nocturnal urine volume. CONCLUSIONS: Alpha 1 (A) adrenoceptor antagonist, tamsulosin, significantly improved the nocturia as well as the lower urinary tract symptoms, which was confirmed by measuring the clinical parameters. To identify the role of tamsulosin for improving nocturia for patients with BPH, we need to prospective clinical studies according to the type of nocturia.