Fast Five Quiz: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Key Aspects

Bradley Schwartz, DO

Disclosures

January 12, 2021

Symptoms often attributed to BPH can be caused by other disease processes, and a history and physical examination are essential in ruling out other etiologies of LUTS. When the prostate enlarges, it may act like a "clamp on a hose," constricting the flow of urine. Nerves within the prostate and bladder may also play a role in causing these common symptoms:

  • Urinary frequency: The need to urinate frequently during the day or night (nocturia), usually voiding only small amounts of urine with each episode

  • Urinary urgency: The sudden, urgent need to urinate, owing to the sensation of imminent loss of urine without control

  • Hesitancy: Difficulty initiating the urinary stream; interrupted, weak stream

  • Incomplete bladder emptying: The feeling of persistent residual urine, regardless of the frequency of urination

  • Straining: The need to strain or push (Valsalva maneuver) to initiate and maintain urination in order to more fully evacuate the bladder

  • Decreased force of stream: The subjective loss of force of the urinary stream over time

  • Dribbling: The loss of small amounts of urine due to a poor urinary stream

Read more about the presentation of BPH.

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