A study on the natural history of hematuria associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia and the effect of finasteride

Objective To study the effect of finasteride on hematuria associated with benign prostate hyperplasia. Methods We evaluated 61 patients with intermittent hematuria who were randomized to a finasteride treated group or control group.Routine urinoscopy was carried out once a week in all the 61 patients. Results In the untreated control group hematuria recurred in 20/31 within a year but in only 7/28 in the finasteride group,which was a statistically significant difference (P0.05).Surgery was required for bleeding only in 5 controls. Conclusions Hematuria secondary benign prostatic hyperplasia may be significant if not treated.Finasteride appears to be effective in eliminating hematuria caused by benign prostate hyperplasia.