THE USE OF A SIMPLE HOME FLOW TEST AS A QUALITY INDICATOR FOR MALE-PATIENTS TREATED FOR LOWER URINARY-TRACT SYMPTOMS SUGGESTIVE OF BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION

Objective: To evaluate the performance of simple home flow test (HFT) in the examination and follow-up of patients suffering from lower urin ary tract symptoms suggestive of bladder outlet obstruction. Methods: One hundred seventy-two patients who were treated with either transure thral resection of the prostate or transurethral microwave therapy wer e included. Symptom evaluation, HFT and uroflowmetry were done before and 3 months following treatment. The patients' opinions about the nee d for further therapy and the effect of therapy were categorised at th e follow-up. Results: The HFT correlated strongly with the maximum flo w rate (Q(max)) both before and after therapy and it was better correl ated to the symptoms of the patients and to the subjective effect of t herapy compared to the Q(max). Conclusion: HFT is a cost-saving diagno stic technique for the classification of urinary flow and should be us eful as a quality indicator in large-scale health care management prog rams.