INTRODUCTION: The development of an accepted clinical definition, classification system and validated outcome questionnaire for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) has led to a flurry of clinical trial activity over the last 15 years.
METHODS: Twenty-four of these studies enrolled a homogeneous population of CP/CPPS patients, were prospective randomized placebo or sham controlled, and employed the National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis symptom index (CPSI) as an outcome parameter.
RESULTS: This review of the evidence and clinical impact from these studies suggests that physician's strict adherence to a rigid evidence-based approach for the treatment of a CP/CPPS patient will result in disappointed patients as well as disappointed physicians.
CONCLUSIONS: There is no one particular treatment that shows significant clinical efficacy to be recommended as a mono-therapy for CP/CPPS. Therefore, the physician must adapt his knowledge and interpretation of the evidence from randomized placebo- and sham-controlled trials to determine what therapy or therapies are best indicated for each individual patient.
Written by:
Nickel JC, Shoskes DA, Wagenlehner FM. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 2V7, Canada.
Reference: World J Urol. 2013 Apr 9. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1007/s00345-013-1062-y
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23568442
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