British journal of urology
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To investigate the performance of the EuroQol (EQ) quality-of-life measure and the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) in assessing the outcome of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction (BPO), and to determine which men experience the greatest increase in health-related quality of life (HRQL) after TURP. ⋯ TURP led to significant improvement in the indices of generic HRQL as measured using the NHP and EQ; this improvement continued for 12 months after surgery and mirrored the symptomatic improvement. The EQ confirmed clinical experience, in that men who were younger, fitter and most symptomatic experienced the greatest benefit from surgery. This has not been shown previously using a quality-of-life measure. Generic HRQL measures can be incorporated easily into clinical trials and both the measures used in this study have sufficient sensitivity to be used in this population. The EQ has the advantage of generating a composite quality-of-life score which is easy to interpret and can be used in cost-utility analysis. The addition of HRQL measures leads to a more robust appraisal of the results of surgical intervention. Ultimately, patient-based outcome from TURP will be assessed using a combination of psychometrically tested disease-specific and generic measures, together with symptom scoring.