About 60% of men ≥60 years old have clinically relevant prostatic enlargement due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The goals of treatment are to decrease lower urinary tract symptoms and to prevent disease progression and complications such as acute urinary retention. The American Urologic Association's guidelines for treatment of BPH were recently updated.

View the Comparison Chart: Some Drugs for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D)

Pharmacologic treatment is recommended for postmenopausal women who have bone density T-scores (standard deviations from normal mean values in the spine, femoral neck, total hip, or distal radius) of -2.5 or below, T-scores between -1.0 and -2.5 with a history of fragility (low-trauma) fracture of the hip or spine, or T-scores between -1.0 and -2.5 with a FRAX 10-year probability of ≥3% for hip fracture or ≥20% for major osteoporotic fracture.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, often accompanied by bloating. IBS is classified by its predominant bowel symptom: constipation (IBS-C), diarrhea (IBS-D), mixed type (IBS-M), or unclassified (IBS-U). Since the exact cause of IBS is unknown, the goal of treatment is symptom control. Some over-the-counter (OTC) products and prescription drugs for IBS are listed in Tables 1-4. The safety of these drugs during pregnancy and lactation is described in Table 5 (online only).

The Vibrant orally administered vibrating capsule (Vibrant Gastro), an FDA-cleared medical device, is now available by prescription for treatment of adults with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) who have not experienced relief of their bowel symptoms by using laxative therapies at the recommended dosage for at least one month. It is the first drug-free treatment to be authorized by the FDA for this indication.

View the Comparison Table: Some Lipid-Lowering Drugs

American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for treatment of hypertension were last published in 2018. Treatment of hypertensive urgencies and emergencies is not discussed here.

Cholesterol management guidelines from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force were last published in 2019.