Benign prostatic hyperplasia specific health status measures in clinical research: how much change in the American Urological Association symptom index and the benign prostatic hyperplasia impact index is perceptible to patients?

Purpose: We assessed the relationship between changes in scores for the American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) impact index with patient global ratings of improvement in a large Veterans Affairs trial comparing different pharmacological therapies for BPH.

Materials and methods: The primary analyses compared absolute score changes from baseline with global ratings of improvement at 13 weeks for 1,218 men.

Results: Subjects who rated themselves as being slightly improved had a mean decrease in AUA symptom index and BPH impact index scores of 3.1 and 0.4 points, respectively. However, the baseline scores strongly influenced this relationship.

Conclusions: These data provide guidance for investigators using the AUA symptom index and BPH impact index as outcome measures.