Keywords:Bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) Men Lower urinary tract symptoms Diagnosis Urodynamics Noninvasive Systematic review Please visit www.eu-acme.org/ europeanurology to read and answer questions on-line. The EU-ACME credits will then be attributed automatically.
AbstractContext: Several noninvasive tests have been developed for diagnosing bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in men to avoid the burden and morbidity associated with invasive urodynamics. The diagnostic accuracy of these tests, however, remains uncertain. Objective: To systematically review available evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive tests in diagnosing BOO in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) using a pressure-flow study as the reference standard. Evidence acquisition: The EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal databases were searched up to May 18, 2016. All studies reporting diagnostic accuracy for noninvasive tests for BOO or detrusor underactivity in men with LUTS compared to pressure-flow studies were included. Two reviewers independently screened all articles, searched the reference lists of retrieved articles, and performed the data extraction. The quality of evidence and risk of bias were assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Evidence synthesis: The search yielded 2774 potentially relevant reports. After screening titles and abstracts, 53 reports were retrieved for full-text screening, of which 42 (recruiting a total of 4444 patients) were eligible. Overall, the results were predominantly based on findings from nonrandomised experimental studies and, within the limits of such study designs, the quality of evidence was typically moderate across the literature. Differences in noninvasive test threshold values and variations in the urodynamic definition of BOO between studies limited the comparability of the data.