Current RMA Instruments:
| Reasonable Hypothesis SOP | 17 of 2016 |
| Balance of Probabilities SOP | 18 of 2016 |
Changes from previous Instruments:
ICD Coding:
- ICD-9-CM: 600
- ICD-10-AM: N40
Brief description
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an enlargement of the prostate gland, which is located at the base of the bladder (in men only). It results in symptoms relating to obstruction to urinary flow. It is a very common condition in older men.
Confirming the diagnosis
Symptoms are non-specific and other causes for the symptoms need to be ruled out. BPH can be diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings and some laboratory tests. Imaging and histology are generally not required.
The relevant medical specialist is a urologist.
Additional diagnoses covered by SOP
- Benign prostatic hypertrophy
Conditions not covered by SOP
Prostatitis#
#non-SOP condition
Clinical onset
Symptoms typically appear slowly and progress gradually over a period of years, but are not specific to BPH. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed and other causes for the symptoms excluded, it may be possible to backdate onset to when symptoms first became sufficiently troublesome for medical attention to be sought.
Clincal worsening
The normal course of the condition is for gradual progression of symptoms. Symptoms can be improved by both medical and surgical treatments. Establishing clinical worsening beyond the normal course of the condition will be difficult and will require speciailist opinion.