The most important question every patient has is their chance of getting better with treatment. In 2002, we performed a clinical study of patients previously treated at our clinic. Here is a summary of our findings. These results have been published in the Journal of Urology (Long Term Results of Multi-modal Therapy for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. Shoskes DA, Hakim L, Ghoniem G, Jackson CL. Journal of Urology 169(4):1406-1410, April 2003).
Patients who were at least 6 months after treatment were sent a questionaire that included the NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI). Patients were also asked to rate their subjective improvement on a scale of 1 (significantly worse) to 5 (significantly better). Fifty four patients responded. The answers came an average of 13 months after their last treatment visit at our clinic. Patients were an average of 42 years old and had symptoms for an average of 9.2 years (range 6 months - 40 years, median 3.5 years). 100% had pain, 63% had irritative voiding symptoms (frequency, burning), 39% had obstructive symptoms (poor stream) and 37% had erectile dysfunction.
Here is a summary of the treatment approach and the initial results. Note that not all patients received the same initial therapy. For instance, patients who were treated with antibiotics in the past without success were not re-treated unless cultures were positive or patients felt better after prostatic massage. Overall 49 of 54 patients were successfully treated (91%) based on the INITIAL response.
At the long term follow up, 1 patient ( 1.9%) was significantly worse, 2 patients (3.7%) were somewhat worse, 8 patients (14.8%) were unchanged , 13 patients (24.1%) were somewhat better, and 30 patients (55.6%) were significantly better. Here are the changes in the NIH-CPSI over time for the three components (pain, urination, quality of life) and for the total score. All changes were statistically significant (p<0.0001).
