Based on improvement of mean International Prostate Symptom Score and quality of life scores , the effectiveness of the newer ABs was not different from the older ABs ( moderate strength of evidence [ SOE ] ) , but had more AEs ( low SOE ) .
Antimuscarinics/AB combination therapy had similar outcomes  as AB monotherapy ( all moderate SOE ) , but often had more AEs .
Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors alone or in combination with ABs had similar or inferior outcomes than ABs alone .
Evidence was insufficient for the beta-3 adrenoceptor agonist .
For all newer agents , the evidence was generally insufficient to assess long-term efficacy , prevention of symptom progression , or AEs .
None of the drugs or drug combinations newly used to treat LUTS attributed to BPH showed outcomes superior to traditional AB treatment .
Given the lack of superior outcomes , the studies ' short time-horizon , and less assurance of their safety , their current value in treating LUTS attributable to BPH appears low .
We found none of the new drugs to be better but there was more concern about side effects
CONTEXT Alpha-blockers ( ABs ) and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors have an established role in treating male lower urinary tract symptoms ( LUTS ) attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH ) .
Recently , newer drugs have shown promise for this indication .
OBJECTIVE To assess the comparative effectiveness and adverse effects ( AEs ) of newer drugs to treat LUTS attributed to BPH through a systematic review and meta- analysis .
PATIENT SUMMARY In this paper , we review ed the evidence of newer drugs to treat men with urinary problems attributable to an enlarged prostate .
A randomized, placebo-controlled study to assess safety and efficacy of vardenafil 10 mg and tamsulosin 0.4 mg vs. tamsulosin 0.4 mg alone in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.
INTRODUCTION Safety and efficacy of tamsulosin and vardenafil are well established : however , there is no report regarding combined therapy with these drugs for  lower urinary tract symptoms ( LUTSs ) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH ) . AIM To compare the safety and efficacy of tamsulosin 0.4 mg/day vs. tamsulosin 0.4 mg/day plus vardenafil 10 mg/day in patients with LUTS/BPH in a r and omized trial with 12-week follow-up . METHODS We conducted a r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled study on 60 men with persistent storage LUTS after 2-week run-in with tamsulosin .  MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES International Prostate Symptom Score ( IPSS ) , IPSS-bother , International Index of Erectile Function , Version 5 ( IIEF-5 ) and Over Active Bladder question naire ( OAB-q ) scores , uroflowmetry data ( Qmax , Qave ) , and postvoiding residual urine were recorded after run-in ( baseline ) , and 2 and 12 weeks after treatment . Differences between vardenafil and placebo at different times were calculated with unpaired sample s t-test . Between-group differences in change from baseline to 2 and 12 weeks were evaluated with analysis of variance . RESULTS We found a between-group significant difference from baseline to 12 weeks in the following : ( i ) Qmax ( placebo : + 0.07 , vardenafil : + 2.56 , P = 0.034 ) ; ( ii ) Qave  ( placebo : -0.15 , vardenafil : + 1.02 , P = 0.031 ) ; ( iii ) irritative-IPSS subscores ( placebo : -1.67 , vardenafil : -3.11 , P = 0.039 ) ; and ( iv ) IIEF ( placebo : + 0.06 , vardenafil : + 2.61 , P = 0.030 ) . No patient reported any serious ( grade ≥ 2 ) adverse event ( AE ) . There were no differences in the incidence of common , treatment-related AEs between men undergoing combined therapy or tamsulosin alone . CONCLUSIONS The combination of tamsulosin and vardenafil for 12 weeks was well tolerated and more effective to improve both LUTS and erectile function , as compared with tamsulosin alone . Further studies are needed to assess the role of combined therapy of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and alpha blockers in treating LUTS/BPH
Based on improvement of mean International Prostate Symptom Score and quality of life scores , the effectiveness of the newer ABs was not different from the older ABs ( moderate strength of evidence [ SOE ] ) , but had more AEs ( low SOE ) .
Antimuscarinics/AB combination therapy had similar outcomes  as AB monotherapy ( all moderate SOE ) , but often had more AEs .
Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors alone or in combination with ABs had similar or inferior outcomes than ABs alone .
Evidence was insufficient for the beta-3 adrenoceptor agonist .
For all newer agents , the evidence was generally insufficient to assess long-term efficacy , prevention of symptom progression , or AEs .
None of the drugs or drug combinations newly used to treat LUTS attributed to BPH showed outcomes superior to traditional AB treatment .
Given the lack of superior outcomes , the studies ' short time-horizon , and less assurance of their safety , their current value in treating LUTS attributable to BPH appears low .
We found none of the new drugs to be better but there was more concern about side effects
CONTEXT Alpha-blockers ( ABs ) and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors have an established role in treating male lower urinary tract symptoms ( LUTS ) attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH ) .
Recently , newer drugs have shown promise for this indication .
OBJECTIVE To assess the comparative effectiveness and adverse effects ( AEs ) of newer drugs to treat LUTS attributed to BPH through a systematic review and meta- analysis .
PATIENT SUMMARY In this paper , we review ed the evidence of newer drugs to treat men with urinary problems attributable to an enlarged prostate .