NOTTINGHAM HEALTH PROFILE MEASUREMENT IN THE ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL OUTCOME AFTER PROSTATECTOMY

Objective To compare the changes in pre- and post-operative symptom sc ores with changes in Nottingham health profile (NHP) scoring, and thus determine whether NHP scoring offers a reliable assessment of outcome after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), and whether NHP scoring could usefully supplement the more traditional method of symp tom scoring in this assessment. Patients and methods An 8-month audit of 1396 TURPs, involving 12 hospital sites, was performed in the North ern region between April 1 and November 31, 1991. A cohort of 371 of t hese patients, for whom pre- and post-operative NHPs and irritative an d obstructive voiding symptoms had been recorded, were investigated. R esults There was a significant decrease in both obstructive and irrita tive voiding symptom scores 3 months after TURF and a significant fall in the NHP scores for all stations except social isolation. There wer e significantly higher irritative symptom scores both before and after operation in men with prostate cancer compared with those with benign prostatic hypertrophy, and significantly higher post-operative obstru ctive symptom scores in men with prostate cancer, However, there were no significant differences in the pre- and post-operative NHP scores f or these two subgroups of patients, In patients who had a good outcome on symptom scoring, there was a significant reduction in NHP scores f or all stations except social isolation. However, in those patients wh o had a poor outcome on symptom score, there was no correlation with c hanges in the NHP scores, with some NHP stations showing a significant reduction after operation. Conclusion NHP quality-of-life scoring can not replace symptom scoring in the assessment of outcome after TURF an d when used alone, added little further information, However, for a co mprehensive assessment of outcome, symptom scores acid quality-of-life assessments should be used together.