The PriMUS Study aims to develop a clinical decision support tool to help GPs more accurately diagnose and manage LUTS in men. The study will recruit 880 men across three research hubs in Bristol, Newcastle and Wales. Men will all receive a series of simple index tests in primary care (following NICE Clinical Guidelines) and a urodynamics reference test. The study will then compare which combination of the simple index tests give the best prediction of the urodynamics result, which can then be incorporated into the clinical decision support tool.
Men are more likely to experience bothersome Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) as they get older. GPs follow standard processes to investigate signs of cancer, or more serious conditions but do not have access to tools to identify and manage more common symptoms of LUTS. This means men are likely to be referred to a urologist in secondary care, where they will receive advice or treatment that could have been given in primary care if GPs had more access to better diagnostic tools. The PriMUS Study will compare the results of the simple index tests, with the results of the urodynamic reference test, to identify which combination of simple index tests give the best prediction of the urodynamics diagnosis. The top performing simple index tests will be incorporated into the clinical decision support tool so that GPs can manage patients without needing invasive urodynamics. Follow up will be conducted 6 months post involvement; collating the treatment and management decisions made as a result of these procedures. The study will also consider and explore practicalities and acceptability of the urodynamic procedure and clinical decision support tool for both patients and clinical staff by conducting separate qualitative work.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
725
All the men in the study will receive the urodynamics procedure as a reference test.
Cardiff University
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Primary Outcome 1- Sensitivity and specificity of the PriMUS clinical decision aid in diagnosing detrusor underactivity, bladder outlet obstruction and detrusor over activity, in men with lower urinary tract symptoms presenting to primary care.
The accuracy of a clinical decision tool, which incorporates simple index tests, by reference and comparison to Urodynamic investigation as the gold standard at 36 months.
Time frame: 36 months
Secondary Outcome 1 - Construction of a patient management algorithm to guide initial treatment for men with LUTS
Identify which combination of simple tests (including e.g. ethnicity, smoking status, height (cm) and weight (kg), medical history, medication, outcome of bladder diary, self-reported symptoms scores using IPSS and ICIQ questionnaires, Digital Rectal Examination Result, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) result, Abdominal Physical Examination Result) best predict the urodynamic diagnosis at 36 months.
Time frame: 36 months
Secondary Outcome 2 - Qualitative analysis of patients' and clinicians' views on the use of a LUTS decision aid in the primary care setting
Analyse the acceptability of a decision aid in primary care with patients and clinicians, to assess the decision tool's value and potential usability.
Time frame: 24 months
Secondary Outcome 3 - Estimate potential percentage change in referral rates to secondary care for men with LUTS
To calculate the potential change in referral rates of men with LUTs into secondary care to calculate the potential overall excess treatment cost savings.
Time frame: 36 months
Secondary Outcome 4 - Estimation of potential costs / savings of implementation of the primary care LUTS decision aid both from a population and individual patient perspective
Estimation of potential costs / savings of implementation of the primary care LUTS decision aid both from a population and individual patient perspective
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Time frame: 36 months