Objectives. To determine the effectiveness of the long-acting alpha(1)-adre
nergic receptor blocking agent terazosin compared with placebo on lower uri
nary tract symptoms and peak urinary flow rate in men with clinical benign
prostatic hyperplasia.
Methods. A formal meta-analysis of all nine randomized trials of terazosin
using both an Empirical Bayes and a fully Bayesian approach was conducted.
A pooled analysis was conducted on those studies in which patients had a ba
seline assessment of prostate volume by transrectal ultrasonography.
Results. No evidence of heterogeneity was found in the estimated effects of
terazosin on the change in peak flow rates in the studies. Terazosin treat
ment was associated with an increase in the peak flow rate of 1.4 mL/s (95%
confidence interval [1.0, 1.7]) compared with placebo. Terazosin resulted
in an average reduction of 2.2 points over placebo (95% confidence interval
[1.6, 3.0]) regarding the common symptom score (range 0 to 36 points). A m
ild heterogeneity was found across the studies, with the decrease in sympto
m score slightly greater with longer treatment duration. No evidence was fo
und that the baseline prostate volume influenced the effect of terazosin.
Conclusions. Terazosin was effective and superior to placebo in reducing sy
mptoms and increasing the peak urinary flow rate. The effect of terazosin o
n the peak: urinary flow rate was apparent in studies as short as 8 weeks.
Most importantly, the effect of terazosin on Symptoms and peak urinary flow
rate was independent of the baseline prostate size for the range of prosta
te volumes reported. (C) 2001, Elsevier Science Inc.