International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | May 2019 | Vol 7 | Issue 5 Page 1658 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Onowa VE et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2019 May;7(5):1658-1664 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Value of the visual prostate symptom score in evaluation of symptomatic benign prostatic enlargement: prospective study in a Nigerian population Victor E. Onowa*, Samaila I. Shuaibu, Idorenyin C. Akpayak, Chimaobi G. Ofoha, Christian A. Agbo, Lemech E. Nabasu, Zingkur Z. Galam, Venyir M. Ramyil, Nuhu K. Dakum INTRODUCTION The commonest clinical presentation of Benign Prostatic Enlargement (BPE) is lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which is also the commonest presenting complaint in the urology clinic. 1,2 The severity of LUTS in a patient with BPE, significantly influences the treatment pathway the patient is placed on, and it can be assessed using both subjective and objective methods. The subjective assessment involves the use of various symptom scores, based on the patient’s own assessment of his symptoms, among which the International Prostate Department of Surgery, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria Received: 13 February 2019 Revised: 22 March 2019 Accepted: 28 March 2019 *Correspondence: Dr. Victor E. Onowa, E-mail: edorkum@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: To evaluate the correlation of Visual Prostate Symptom Score (VPSS) with International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Maximum Urinary Flow (Qmax). To investigate the effect of educational level on the ability to independently complete the VPSS versus the IPSS and time taken to do so. Methods: Bio data was taken from men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to Benign Prostatic Enlargement (BPE) who presented at the Urology clinic of Jos University Teaching Hospital. They were administered the IPSS questionnaire and VPSS pictogram, which they completed with or without physician assistance and the time taken to do so was noted. They subsequently had uroflowmetry done on same visit and the data was recorded in a structured proforma. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS (R) version 20. Correlation test was done for VPSS, IPSS and Qmax while the paired t-test was used for the average time spent in completing both questionnaires. A p-value <0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Eighty-five men (aged 42 to 94 years) were enrolled in the study. The VPSS correlated significantly with the IPSS in terms of total score (r = +0.684, p<0.001) and QoL (r = +0.570, p<0.001), as well as with the Qmax (r = - 0.222, p = 0.041). A greater proportion (21.2%) of men with limited education could complete the VPSS without physician assistance as compared to the IPSS (6.0%) and the average time taken to complete the VPSS (170.51 seconds) was significantly shorter than the time taken to complete the IPSS (406.42 seconds). Conclusions: The VPSS correlates significantly with the IPSS and Qmax. It can be completed without physician assistance by a greater proportion of men with limited education within a shorter time period. Keywords: Benign prostatic enlargement, International prostate symptom score, Lower urinary tract symptoms, Uroflowmetry, Visual prostate symptom score DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20191654