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IPSS Calculator (International Prostate Symptom Score)

Score the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS / AUA symptom index) — seven urinary symptom questions plus the quality-of-life question — with mild, moderate or severe symptoms.

1. Incomplete emptying — sensation of not emptying your bladder completely after urinating

2. Frequency — having to urinate again less than two hours after you finished

3. Intermittency — stopping and starting again several times when you urinate

4. Urgency — finding it difficult to postpone urination

5. Weak stream

6. Straining — having to push or strain to begin urination

7. Nocturia — times you typically get up at night to urinate

Quality of life — if you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition as it is now, how would you feel?

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How it works

IPSS = sum of 7 symptom questions scored 0–5 (range 0–35): 0–7 mild · 8–19 moderate · 20–35 severe. The quality-of-life question (0–6) is reported separately.

The International Prostate Symptom Score is the American Urological Association Symptom Index with an added quality-of-life question, adopted by the World Health Organization for lower urinary tract symptoms in men, most often due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Men answer seven questions about the past month; storage symptoms (frequency, urgency, nocturia) and voiding symptoms (emptying, intermittency, weak stream, straining) can be looked at separately. The score measures how bothersome symptoms are and how they change with treatment — it does not diagnose prostate enlargement or cancer.

Worked example

Answers of 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 and 2 (nocturia twice a night) give an IPSS of 14 / 35 — moderate symptoms — with a quality-of-life score of 3 (mixed). The storage subscore is 7 / 15 and the voiding subscore 7 / 20.

Sources: Barry MJ et al. The AUA symptom index for benign prostatic hyperplasia. J Urol 1992

Frequently asked questions

What is a normal IPSS score?

Scores of 0–7 are mild symptoms, 8–19 moderate and 20–35 severe. Many men over 50 have mild symptoms that need no treatment.

What IPSS score needs treatment?

Treatment is guided by how bothersome symptoms are (the quality-of-life answer) as much as by the score. Moderate or severe symptoms that bother the patient are usually discussed for lifestyle measures, medication or, sometimes, surgery.

Is IPSS the same as the AUA symptom score?

The seven symptom questions are identical; IPSS adds the single quality-of-life question.

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Clinical decision tool for education and for use by trained clinicians alongside clinical judgement — not a diagnosis and not a substitute for medical assessment. Scores validated in specific populations may not apply to every patient.