Recommendations for the evaluation of patients with prostatitis

Prostatitis is a prevalent, confusing and frustrating clinical presentation for urologists. Three recent international and North American consensus meetings have drafted suggestions for the evaluation of a man presenting with prostatitis. Published consensus statements from the 2000 Washington meeting of the International Prostatitis Collaborative Network, the 2002 Virginia meeting of the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative Research Network and the 2002 Giessen meeting of the International Consensus Conference on Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostatitis were examined to develop suggestions for evaluation of the prostatitis patient by urologists. Clinical, laboratory and imaging evaluations for the patient presenting with prostatitis and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome can be categorized as basic or mandatory evaluations (which would include a complete history, focused physical examination, and urinalysis/urine culture), further or recommended evaluations (those that are recommended but not mandatory) and optional evaluations in selected patients. As more evidence and data are accumulated and published, these recommendations may eventually evolve into practice guidelines for the evaluation of men presenting with prostatitis symptoms.