Combination of tamsulosin and Pentoxifylline vs. tamsulosin alone in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms caused by benign prostate hyperplasia

According to a recent study, the addition of Pentoxifylline to tamsulosin has shown promising results in alleviating the lower urinary symptoms experienced by patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This combination therapy is well-tolerated and has demonstrated superior treatment outcomes compared to tamsulosin alone. The findings of this study were published in the journal, Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms.

A total of 60 patients diagnosed with BPH were included in this randomized clinical trial. The participants were divided into two groups: intervention (Pentoxifylline + tamsulosin) and control (placebo + tamsulosin). Throughout the study, the patients were assessed for international prostate symptom score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Q_max) using uroflowmetry, quality of life (QoL), and post-void residual volume (PVR) through abdominal sonography at the beginning of the trial and after 12 weeks.

Patients who were administered the combination therapy exhibited significantly improved results in terms of prostate symptoms and improvement of quality of life (IPSS: -36.6%; QoL:       -45.3%) when compared to patients who solely received tamsulosin (IPSS: -21.2%; QoL: -27.7%). Additionally, the combination therapy yielded a significantly higher improvement in maximum urinary flow rate and residual volume (Q_max: +42.5%; PVR: -42.6%) compared to monotherapy (Q_max: +25.1%; PVR: -26.1%).

It can be concluded that the addition of Pentoxifylline to tamsulosin is effective in reducing the lower urinary symptoms in patients with BPH.