Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled clinical trials of at least 12 months' duration were included.
Specific interventions included in the review
Terazosin, finasteride (5 mg) or a combination of these two drugs used for at least 12 months.
Participants included in the review
Men (n=2,741) with clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (size greater than 30 mL by palpation required), and within the age range 40 to 83 years. There is a wide range of variation between studies for baseline prostate volume, baseline peak urinary flow rate and baseline symptom severity score, due to the difference in entry criteria. The mean prostate volume varies by more than 50% (or 22 mL) between the Veteran Affairs (VA) and the North American studies.
Outcomes assessed in the review
The outcomes were peak urinary flow rate, symptom score and prostate volume.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the authors performed the selection.