The effect of different doses of tamsulosin on lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men increases with age. Alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists are first-line drugs for the treatment of LUTS, and tamsulosin is the drug of choice. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of tamsulosin 0.4 mg and 0.8 mg on lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

This double-blind clinical trial was conducted in the Urology unit of Emam Hassan Hospital in Bojnurd from May 2019 to Feb 2020. In this study, 92 patients with LUTS due to BPH were selected according to available method and randomly assigned into two groups of intervention. In the first group, patients received tamsulosin 0.4 mg and in the second group, tamsulosin 0.8 mg once daily for 8 weeks. The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated using IPSS criteria before and 8 weeks after treatment. According to a checklist, side effects were evaluated during treatment. Data was analyzed based on independent t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA by SPSS software version 22. A significance level of 0.05 was considered.

The results showed that the two groups were not significantly different in age and duration of symptoms. According to the statistics test, there is a significant difference between the two groups in the post-treatment phase. Also, based on analysis of variance with repeated measures statistical test, there was a significant difference between and within two groups in IPSS criteria at different stages of evaluation. The prevalence of complications was (8.6%) in the first group and (11.9%) in the second group. The prevalence of complications was not significant between the two groups.

Tamsulosin is effective in reducing lower urinary tract symptoms and Tamsulosin 0.8 mg is an effective treatment regimen for the treatment of LUTS secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia in those who have not responded to 0.4 mg treatment. Drug side effects were well tolerated in patients.