The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), a ubiquitous clinical assessment tool, is a standard in the assessment and research of lower urinary tract symptoms in men.
International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)
| IPSS question | Possible answers (points) | |
| 1. | How often did you have the feeling that your bladder was not completely empty after urinating? | * Never (0) * Less than 1 time in 5 (1) * Less than half of the time (2) * About half the time (3) * More than half the time (4) * Almost always (5) |
| 2. | How many times did you have to urinate a second time within 2 hours? | |
| 3. | How often have you had to stop and start again several times over while urinating (urinary hesitancy)? | |
| 4. | How often have you had difficulty delaying urination? | |
| 5. | How often have you had a weak stream when urinating? | |
| 6. | How often did you need to make an effort or strain to start urinating? | |
| 7. | On average, how often did you get up to urinate during the night (i.e., between going to bed and getting up in the morning)? | * Never (0) * Once (1) * Twice (2) * Three times (3) * Four times (4) * Five times or more (5) |
| 8. | How would you feel if your current symptoms around urination did not change in the future? | * Totally happy (0) * Happy (1) * Mostly happy (2) * A bit unhappy (3) * Mostly unhappy (4) * Unhappy (5) |
* 0–7 points: mild LUTS; 8–19 points: moderate LUTS; 20–35 points: severe LUTS
LUTS, lower urinary tract symptoms.
References:
- Yao MW, Green JSA. How international is the International Prostate Symptom Score? A literature review of validated translations of the IPSS, the most widely used self-administered patient questionnaire for male lower urinary tract symptoms. Low Urin Tract Symptoms. 2022 Mar;14(2):92-101. [Medline]
- Miernik A, Gratzke C. Current Treatment for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2020 Dec 4;117(49):843-854. [Medline]
Created Sep 21, 2022
