{"id":18846,"date":"2020-01-01T14:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/?p=18846"},"modified":"2022-03-14T12:38:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T12:38:32","slug":"ipss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/prostate-health\/ipss\/","title":{"rendered":"International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH<\/a>) are common in adult men and are both slow-progressing diseases that deserve careful evaluation and follow-up,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a doctor makes a diagnosis about your prostate, he will mention a few things. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) may be one of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is the International Prostate Symptom Score? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the name implies, the International Prostate Symptom Score is a scoring system. It is based on eight simple questions a doctor will ask (1). It can be self-administered by patients, as well. Thus, it is a valuable tool to diagnose and treat prostate problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tool is useful to diagnose urinary tract symptoms<\/a> due to bladder outlet obstruction in men. It is also beneficial to know how effective your treatment is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IPSS will give your doctor enough data to know whether he needs to change your prostate medication. He may also try new methods to improve your quality of life. It may even guide and predict the outcome of transurethral resection of the prostate<\/a> (2) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How was the IPSS developed? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prostate volume<\/a> has always been an important marker. The American Urological Association developed this questionnaire, trying to reduce medical error (3). It formerly had seven questions, but an eight-question was added to assess the patient\u2019s quality of life (1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resulting IPSS test is a questionnaire of eight questions. You should give each item a number on a scale from one to five. Zero means never, and five means almost always. After receiving your answers, your doctor will score your test. Then, he will give you his medical opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re done filling all of the questions using a scoring system from zero to five. Then, your IPSS<\/a> is calculated by adding the numbers and studying your case. You will get a 0 to 35 number and compare it with a score table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is a healthy IPSS? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You added your numbers and got your total score. Now, you can be diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe urinary tract symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prostate symptom score of 0 means you have no symptoms at all, but having a low score (1 to 7) means you have mild symptoms. These are usually caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia <\/a>(BPH), a common condition in older adults (1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting from a score of 8, you will be diagnosed with moderate urinary tract symptoms. Based on clinical trials, we know that 20 or more accounts for severe prostate problems. They are usually associated with a significant increase in prostate volume<\/a> (1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in short, your results should be interpreted as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n