Testosterone is an essential hormone required for the developmental growth and maintenance of the male phenotype during the whole life. With the increasing male life expectancy worldwide and development of adequate testosterone preparations, the prescription of testosterone has increased tremendously. Testosterone replacement should be based on low serum testosterone and related clinical symptoms. In the last two decades, with the accumulation of data, official recommendations have evolved in terms of definition, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. In practice, it is better for physicians to follow the Institutional Official Recommendations or Clinical Practice Guideline for an adequate diagnosis and treatment of testosterone deficiency. Currently, four official recommendations are available for diagnosis and treatment of patients with testosterone deficiency. The inconsistencies in the guidelines merely create confusion among the physicians instead of providing clear information. Furthermore, there is no definite method to assess serum testosterone and clinical symptoms. In the era of active testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), physicians' practice patterns should be consistent with the clinical practice guidelines to avoid the misuse of testosterone. In this review, the author introduces the evolution of clinical guidelines to provide a comprehensive understanding of the differences and controversies with respect to TRT.
Journal of clinical medicine. 2019 Mar 25*** epublish ***
Hyun Jun Park, Sun Tae Ahn, Du Geon Moon
Department of Urology and Medical Research Institute of Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan 49241, Korea. ., Department of Urology, Korea University Guro Hospita, l No. 148, Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul 08308, Korea. ., Department of Urology, Korea University Guro Hospita, l No. 148, Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul 08308, Korea. .