Causes and symptoms of chronic prostatitis in men

Chronic inflammation of the prostate gland occurs in men of any age.In most cases, the catalyst is an infectious factor: Trichomonas, staphylococci and gonococci.Bacteria that enter the body provoke inflammation of the urethral canal, the prostate gland itself.

The chronic form of prostatitis is often asymptomatic.The disease itself is determined only after the transition to an acute form.The late diagnosis is also explained by the fact that the first symptoms of chronic prostatitis in men are often ignored.

Statistics show a constant "rejuvenation" of the disease.Increasingly, patients over the age of 30 turn to urologists.

Chronic prostatitis - what is it?

The prostate gland is located below the bladder.The main functions are reduced to protecting the vesica urinaria from the entry of seminal fluid, as well as to the production of prostatic secretion, a necessary component of male seminal fluid.Inflammation of the gland tissue, provoked by infection, congestion and other factors, gradually becomes permanent.

Chronic prostatitis leads to degenerative changes.The tissue structure is gradually deformed.Often, against the background of inflammation, stones appear in the channels.Some types of prostatitis cause the development of cancer.

An international classification system has been developed to facilitate the differentiation of different prostate diseases.

Chronic prostatitis - causes

It is generally accepted that inflammation of the prostate gland is caused by two main factors: bacterial and abacterial.

The first is related to the entry of pathogens and infections into the patient's body.Most often, the catalyst is a sexually transmitted bacteria.

The second reason for the appearance is not related to an infectious agent.The catalyst of inflammation can be:

• Hypothermia of the body.
• Hormonal imbalance associated with aging and irregular sex life.
• Bad habits.
• Trauma to the pelvic organs.
• Stagnation caused by metabolic disorders and a sedentary lifestyle.

After diagnosing prostatitis, the underlying cause of chronic prostatitis must be determined.The course of therapy is prescribed based on what exactly caused the inflammation.Bacterial and non-infectious prostatitis are treated differently.

Urologists indicate several additional factors that worsen the situation and affect the severe course of the disease:

• Sexual abstinence.
• Inferior ejaculation (choosing interrupted intercourse as a method of contraception).
• stress.
• Bad habits - alcohol abuse and smoking.
• Bad nutrition.
• Spent inflammatory diseases in the past.Often urethritis and cystitis act as a cause of prostatitis in chronic form.

Inflammation is accompanied by destructive changes in the prostate gland, which makes it possible to classify the disease into several categories.

Classification of chronic inflammation of the prostate

Varieties of prostatitis received their own ICD-10 code - N41.To clarify the diagnosis and differentiate the catalyst infection, a separate classification B95-B97 is used.The symptom rating scale divides the disease into several groups and subgroups:

• I - acute inflammation, accompanied by a sharp increase in temperature and fever.
• II - chronic prostatitis provoked by an infectious factor.
• III - class includes a disease in which pelvic pain syndrome begins to manifest itself.It is customary to distinguish two subgroups:
  1. IIIA - there are signs of an inflammatory process.Low fever is maintained.
  2. IIIB - no inflammation.
• IV - prostatitis in which there are no symptomatic manifestations.Deviations from the norm are detected exclusively by instrumental diagnostic methods.

According to the ICD code:

• N41.1 was diagnosed with chronic prostatitis.
• N41.8 Inflammatory diseases of the prostate gland.
• N41.9 no definite diagnosis made.

How does chronic prostatitis manifest itself - its symptoms

The first signs of chronic prostatitis in men appear in an advanced stage of the disease.Often, early development has no clinical manifestations.Symptoms, even if present, are temporary, short-lived and of low intensity.

According to clinical manifestations, three stages of prostatitis development are distinguished:

• Initial indirect signs of chronic prostatitis - as already noted, the onset of the disease is not expressed by clearly distinguishable symptoms.Manifestations are weak or completely absent.Signs to pay attention to: burning sensation during ejaculation, reduced potency, painful urination.
• Secondary signs of chronic inflammation of the prostate - at this stage, pathological changes in the structure of the tissues, the appearance of formations similar to scars, and a decrease in genitourinary function occur.The stage is characterized by a sharp deterioration in potency and urination, increased sweating, severe pain in the pelvis, lumbar spine and scrotum.
• Signs of advanced disease - the prostate stops functioning normally.Healthy tissues begin to metamorphose.The gland increases in size.Blood and pus appear in the urine, there is a constant feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder, frequent trips to the toilet at night.Erectile function decreases so much that we can talk about complete sexual impotence.

In addition to the symptoms characteristic of each stage of development, there are general signs that appear throughout the course of the disease.

Pain syndrome

Chronic prostatitis in the late stage of development has pronounced symptoms.Characteristic clinical manifestations are pain with a strong intensity that does not disappear on its own and requires the use of analgesics and antispasmodics.

The pain syndrome accompanies the entire period of development of the disease.During the primary signs of prostatitis, discomfort and burning in the urethral canal are of low intensity and therefore often ignored.The pain is often mistakenly attributed to sciatica or fatigue.After relieving the pain or taking an antispasmodic, the symptom usually disappears.

Over time, the clinical picture becomes more intense.The pain syndrome manifests itself more intensely and remains after taking analgesics.Unpleasant sensations accompany every act of urination, defecation and ejaculation.

The pain radiates from the spine to the scrotum, sometimes to the limbs, and is accompanied by cramps and numbness.Skin rashes, itching and burning of tissues in the prostate and genital area are a normal reaction of the body to internal inflammation.

rise in temperature

Chronic inflammation of the prostate gland in an acute form is accompanied by heat and fever.There is a sharp rise in temperature, reaching 39-40°.The indicators are stable.Body temperature does not decrease even after taking antipyretics.

Slow prostatitis is characterized by a subfebrile temperature.Constant indicators of chronic inflammation, within 37-37.2 °.

Reducing the temperature and self-administration of drugs to reduce external manifestations is strictly prohibited!

Dysuria

The first signs of chronic prostatitis appear in various urination disorders.Over time, the symptoms become more intense, which helps to identify the disease.Manifestations of dysuria:

• The frequent urge to go to the toilet at night.
• Sensation of incomplete emptying of the bladder.
• Hematuria (blood in the urine), purulent discharge.
• Pain during urination.

Clinical signs and the intensity of their manifestation directly affect the diagnosis and require mandatory additional research.Symptoms may indicate other inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system, hyperplasia and oncology.

Disorders of the genital organs

Chronic prostatitis leads to the appearance of scars that disrupt the blood supply.The lack of nutrients leads to the following manifestations:

• Decreased potency - with chronic prostatitis, sexual disorders are observed.One of the characteristic symptoms is a normal erection, which sharply decreases during sexual intercourse.In the advanced stage, a stable potency occurs.
• Infertility - after the appearance of scars in the seminal ducts, sperm viability decreases.Inflammation changes the structure and composition of ejaculate.In an advanced stage, the sperm thickens and lumps appear.
• Pain during sexual intercourse - discharge of secretion from the urethral canal is observed.Discomfort and painful symptoms are felt during intercourse, especially during ejaculation.Often psychosomatic causes lead to persistent impotence of the patient.

The main symptoms of chronic prostatitis: pain, increased body temperature, dysuria, dysfunction of the genital organs.The intensity and duration of the period since the onset of clinical signs, as well as associated symptoms, are taken into account when making a diagnosis.

How can chronic inflammation of the prostate be detected?

Prostatitis has no symptoms by which the disease can be accurately differentiated.Some diseases of the genitourinary system have similar symptoms.An accurate diagnosis can be made only after a complete examination of the patient, including laboratory tests and methods for instrumental detection of the disease.

After suspecting the presence of disorders in the functioning of the pelvic organs, the urologist will prescribe a mandatory rectal examination.If tissue changes are detected during palpation, several laboratory tests are prescribed.

Laboratory research methods

Clinical tests of blood and urine differentiate the presence of an inflammatory process and can often explain the catalyst for the development of the disease.When making the diagnosis, additional information will be required from the results of the following laboratory tests:

• Cytological and bacteriological analysis of urine.The PSA level is determined.The protein level rises sharply when the gland tissue is inflamed.
• Taking a smear from the urethra.
• Microscopy of prostate secretion - based on the results, malfunctions in the prostate gland are determined.Differentiate cancer from chronic tissue inflammation.The sowing of prostatic secretion is prohibited during the acute period of the disease, accompanied by high body temperature, exacerbation of hemorrhoids or fissures in the anus.
• Tests for STIs (sexually transmitted infections) - one of the frequent catalysts of inflammation of the prostate gland are pathogenic microorganisms.Trichomonads, staphylococci and gonococci can cause the disease.Prostatitis develops during the active phase of bacterial proliferation and after the infection has already been cured.

Laboratory tests are a mandatory component in the diagnosis of prostatitis and the subsequent selection of a treatment method.

Instrumental detection of the disease

There are three main methods of prostatitis research.Each instrumental diagnostic method provides information about changes in the structure of the gland tissue and has its own indications and contraindications:

• Tomography - MRI is often prescribed to diagnose chronic prostatitis.The study allows you to get a layered image of the prostate.MRI signs accurately indicate chronic inflammation and also indicate the beginning of tissue degeneration into a malignant entity.Magnetic resonance technology is absolutely harmless, but there are contraindications due to the impossibility of examining patients with pacemakers, metal clips and shunts (left during surgical operations).
• Transrectal TRUS is an informative method that reliably shows the presence of inflammation.Echographic signs of structural changes in the prostate gland according to the type of chronic prostatitis include: deviations from the norm in volume and size, structure and the presence of pathological formations.Ultrasound techniques are not prescribed for acute inflammation of the rectum, presence of fissures in the anus or hemorrhoids.
• Ultrasound - transabdominal technique has no contraindications.The method is less informative compared to TRUS and MRI.Ultrasound signs make it difficult to determine the space of the abdominal cavity.Diagnostic results are often contradictory and require clarification.The advantage of ultrasound is the simplicity and speed of the examination.

The accuracy of the ultrasound image largely depends on the experience of the doctor conducting the examination.

Differential search for disease

After receiving the results of clinical and biochemical tests, the symptoms of chronic inflammation of the prostate gland are evaluated.Common diagnostic standards have been developed that are valid worldwide.

To facilitate the task of the urologist, the NIH-CPSI symptom index was invented, made in the form of a questionnaire or questionnaire.The doctor fills in the fields in the document and then makes a diagnosis.

There are computer programs based on the NIH-CPSI index.The doctor must fill out a questionnaire and the system will automatically perform a summary assessment of the symptoms of chronic prostatitis.The effectiveness of the technique has been proven all over the world.

After calculating the results of the questionnaire, an additional evaluation of instrumental and clinical studies is taken into account when making a diagnosis: the presence of echo signs of chronic prostatitis, an increased PSA level, identification of an infectious marker by microscopy of secretions.The more data the urologist has, the more accurate the result will be.

What is dangerous for chronic prostatitis - its consequences

The consequences of chronic prostatitis in men are disorders in the work of the genitourinary system.These include:

• Impotence.
• Acute urinary retention.
• Infertility.

Fibrous changes that accompany an advanced disease cause the development of oncology.Normal tissues degenerate into malignant ones.That is why the prevention of functional changes in the prostate gland in order to prevent the development of cancer is an extremely important task for the urologist.

The presence of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, a harbinger of oncology, and fibrotic changes are taken into account when making the diagnosis.Advanced disease often results in the need for surgery: prostatectomy.

Diagnosing prostatitis and distinguishing the disease from related diseases of the pelvic organs is an important task for doctors and patients.The detection of the first symptoms depends entirely on the person himself.If you experience any discomfort while urinating, reduced erection, or prolonged low-grade fever, these are reasons to seek professional medical attention immediately.Slowing down is dangerous!