Abstract

COZAR, J.M. et al. Clinical Management of Patient With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Spain. Actas Urol Esp [online]. 2011, vol.35, n.10, pp.580-588. ISSN 0210-4806.

Objectives: To identify clinical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Spain and its associated health care resources. Material and methods: A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted through telephone interviews to general practitioners (GP) and urologists. Information about diagnosis, pharmacologic treatment and follow-up was collected. Results were clustered according to the key variables considered as drivers of clinical practice patterns: BPH diagnosis, severity classification, treatment initiation and follow up of patients. Results: 153 GP and 154 urologists participated in the study. 7 different clinical patterns were identified in primary care (PC). Resource use during diagnosis is relatively homogeneous, reporting a range of 2.0 to 2.6 visits employed and being the most frequent test performed PSA and urine test. Follow-up is heterogeneous; frequency of follow-up visits oscillates from 3.2 to 7.0 visits/patient/year and type of tests performed is different among patterns and within the same pattern. In Urology, 3 clinical patterns were identified. Resource use is homogeneous in the diagnosis and in the follow-up; urologists employed 2 visits in diagnosis and a range of 2.1 to 3.2 visits/patient/year in the follow-up. The most frequent tests both in diagnosis and follow-up are PSA and digital test. Conclusions: BPH management shows variability in PC, identifying 7 different clinical practice patterns with different resource use during the follow-up among patterns and within the same pattern. The implementation of clinical guidelines could be justified to reduce heterogeneity.

Keywords : Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Clinical management; Variability; Primary care; Urology.

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