Clinical outcome of acute bacterial prostatistis, a multicenter study

Purpose: Few studies have examined acute prostatitis in Korea. To initiate the investigation of this topic, a multi-center retrospective analysis of acute prostatitis was conducted. Materials and methods: The clinical records of 335 patients from 13 hospitals, diagnosed with acute prostatitis, between January of 1994 and October of 2004, were reviewed. For each patient, the urine culture, changes in the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) value and the prostate volume, the incidence of prostate abscess, the use of antibiotics, and whether the disease went into remission or progressed to chronic prostatitis were analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients, time from the onset of symptom to admission and number of days of admitted were 54.9±15.1 (16-85) years, 2.4±3.4 (16-85) days and 7.5±3.9 (1-25) days, respectively. The chief symptoms of the patients were high fever, dysuria and urinary frequency. Routine urinalysis found pyuria in 82% and hematuria in 70% of patients. The causative organisms of 43.0% of the patients were cultured, with the chief organisms found to be E. coli (67%) and P. aeruginosa (13%), et al. The mean PSA and prostate volume on initial diagnosis were 24.6±30.2ng/ml and 45.8±17.4ml, respectively, and a prostate abscess was found in 4 patients (3.1%). The antibiotics injected during patient admission were: cephalosporin family (68%), aminoglycosides (70%) and quinolone family (43%). An additional alpha blocker was used in 49% of cases. Oral quinolone (91%), cephalosporin (9%) and alpha blocker (44%) were prescribed for a mean 32.5 (2-180) days after discharge. 259 (77%) of the patients were available for follow-up. Of these, 21% took antibiotics over an 8 week treatment period, and 8% over a 12 week period. The disappearance of pyuria after treatment was observed in a mean of 13 days after the end of treatment. After 13 weeks of treatment, 11 (50%) of the 22 patients who received prostate massage (4.2% of all follow up patients) were found to have chronic prostatitis. The mean PSA and prostate volume declined during follow up, to 6.13±10.38ng/ml and 37.5±13.5ml, respectively. Conclusions: In our study, the most common chief symptom of acute prostatitis was a high fever, with the most common causative organism being E. coli. Patients were admitted for approximately one week, and treated with antibiotic for about one month, after which time PSA elevation was observed in 80% of patients. Although all acute prostatitis patients were treated with proper antibiotics, progression to chronic prostatitis was observed in 4.2% of patients.