Introduction and Objectives
Asymptomatic inflammation as new category of prostatitis is often found during evaluation of other reproductive and prostate disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic prostatitis in ageing male with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).
Material and Methods
A total of 132 men (mean age 58.9±6.7 years) with LUTS (mean I-PSS 10.4±6.4) were investigated for white blood count (WBC) in expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) and post-prostatic massage urine specimen. Subjects with any clinical symptoms of inflammation were excluded. Total prostate volume, urinary flow rate and certain organ-specific, hormonal and biochemical markers were measured as well. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: men without leukocytes and with moderate WBC count in EPS (<1×106 WBC/mL, group 1) and men with significant (>1×106 WBC/mL, group 2) counts of white blood cells in EPS.
Results
The prevalence of asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis according to WHO guidelines (greater than 1×106 WBC/mL) was 29.5% (n = 39). When we used a lower threshold (greater than 0.2×106 WBC/mL) the prevalence was 61.4% (n = 81). There was statistically significant difference in PSA level (p = 0.004) and I-PSS irritative subscore (p = 0.048) for investigated groups. The WBC in EPS showed a positive correlation with PSA in serum (r = 0.331, p ≤ 0.001) and I-PSS irritative subscore (r = 0.215, p = 0.014) for all investigated men.
Conclusions
Our preliminary results suggest that NIH category IV prostatitis is quite prevalent in ageing male with LUTS and may be a risk factor for prostate pathologies.
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Copyright
© 2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
