Enlarged prostate

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Male reproductive anatomy

BPH

Prostatectomy - series

Enlarged prostate

Alternative Names:

BPH; Benign prostatic hypertrophy (hyperplasia); Prostate - enlarged

Symptoms:

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Less than half of all men with BPH have symptoms of the disease, which include:

Slowed or delayed start of the urinary stream
Weak urine stream
Dribbling after urinating
Straining to urinate
Strong and sudden urge to urinate
Incomplete emptying of your bladder
Needing to urinatetwo or more times per night
Urinary retention (complete inability to urinate)
Incontinence
Pain with urination or bloody urine (these may indicate infection)

Signs and tests:

Aftertaking a complete medical history, your doctor will perform a digital rectal exam to feel the prostate gland.The following tests may also be performed:

Urine flow rate
Post-void residual urine test to see how muchurine is left in your bladder after urination
Pressure flow studies to measure the pressure in the bladder as you urinate
An IVP (an x-ray study) to confirm BPH or look for blockage
Urinalysis to check for blood or infection
Urine culture to check for infection
Voiding cystourethrogram
A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test to screen for prostate cancer
Cystoscopy

In addition, you may be asked to complete aform to evaluate the severity of your symptoms and their impact on your daily life. Your score may be compared to past records to determine if the condition is getting worse.

References:

Hormone Foundation. Hormones & you. Patient information page. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate). J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005; 90(10):2.

AUA Practice Guidelines Committee. AUA guideline on management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (2003). Chapter 1: Diagnosis and treatment recommendations. J Urol. 2003 Aug; 170:530-47.

Bent S, Kane C, Shinohara K, et. al. Saw Palmetto for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. NEJM. 2006; 354:557-566.