International Prostate Symptom Score

The International Prostate Symptom Score ( IPSS ) is a comprehensive questionnaire eight questions to the disease Benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH, benign prostate enlargement ). The questionnaire contains seven questions about symptoms and a question on quality of life (Quality of Life, QoL).

This questionnaire was created in 1992 by the American Urological Association. At that time he did not include the 8 question on QoL. Why was the original name of either " AUA symptom score" or " AUA -7" (American Urological Association symptom score 7).

For the seven symptoms each zero to five points will be awarded: feeling of residual urine, urinary urgency again two hours after the last toileting, Harnstottern, inability to postpone urination, weak beam, straining during urination and frequency of nocturnal urination. According to this scoring system, patients are ( IPSS = 8-19 ) and severe ( IPSS = 20-35) divided into those with mild symptoms ( IPSS <8 ), moderate. Treatment is usually started from a value of greater than 7 and the existing distress.

The IPSS questionnaire can be filled quickly and easily even by patients. Therefore, it can be applied both in urological clinics and primary care physicians to estimate a need for treatment. The questionnaire can be filled again at different times in order to document a comparison of symptoms and their severity over months or years and thereby help to illustrate the disease process.

As well as various other diseases can cause symptoms like those of the benigen prostatic hyperplasia, the IPSS test is expressly not suitable for screening or initial diagnosis.