What is prostatitis? Let us help you understand the professional knowledge

Prostatitis is a disease that we often hear about. This disease only occurs in men. Patients will experience a variety of symptoms, such as fatigue, chills, prostate pain, etc. There are many factors that lead to this disease. The following will help you understand the relevant knowledge about the disease.

1. What is prostatitis?

Prostatitis is a common disease in urology, and ranks first among male patients under 50 years old in urology. In 1995, NIH developed a new classification method for prostatitis: Type I: equivalent to acute bacterial prostatitis in the traditional classification method, Type II: equivalent to chronic bacterial prostatitis in the traditional classification method, Type III: chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, Type IV: asymptomatic prostatitis. Among them, nonbacterial prostatitis is far more common than bacterial prostatitis.

2. Causes

Only a few patients have an acute history, and most of them present with chronic and recurrent symptoms. The main pathogenic factors of type I and type II prostatitis are pathogen infection, which invades the prostate with urine, leading to infection. Pathological anatomy confirms that prostatitis lesions are generally limited to the peripheral zone, where the glandular ducts open in the posterior urethra in the opposite direction of the vertical line of urine flow, which is easy to cause urine reflux, while the direction of the glandular ducts in the central zone and transitional zone is consistent with the direction of urine flow, and infection is not easy to occur. The pathogenesis of type III is unclear, and the etiology is very complex and there is widespread controversy. Most scholars believe that its main causes may be pathogen infection, urination dysfunction, mental and psychological factors, neuroendocrine factors, abnormal immune response, oxidative stress theory, lower urinary tract epithelial dysfunction, etc. Type IV lacks research on related pathogenesis, and may have some of the same causes and mechanisms as type III. Recent studies have also found that uric acid in urine not only stimulates the prostate, but can also precipitate into stones, block the gland ducts, and serve as a shelter for bacteria. These findings can explain that prostatitis syndrome is actually a common manifestation of multiple diseases, and the clinical manifestations are complex and varied, which can produce various complications or resolve on their own.

3. Clinical manifestations

Type I often presents with sudden onset, with systemic symptoms such as chills, fever, fatigue, and weakness, accompanied by perineal and suprapubic pain, and even acute urinary retention. Type II and Type III have similar clinical symptoms, often with pain and abnormal urination. Regardless of the type of chronic prostatitis, similar clinical symptoms can be manifested, collectively referred to as prostatitis syndrome, including pelvic and sacral pain, abnormal urination, and sexual dysfunction. Pelvic and sacral pain is extremely complex, and the pain is generally located in the suprapubic, lumbar and perineal regions. Radiating pain can manifest as pain in the urethra, spermatic cord, testicles, groin, and lateral abdominal area. It radiates to the abdomen, similar to acute abdominal pain, and radiates along the urinary tract, similar to angina, which often leads to misdiagnosis. Abnormal urination is manifested by frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, difficulty urinating, bifurcated urine stream, dripping after urination, increased frequency of nocturia, and milky white discharge from the urethra after urination or defecation. Occasionally, sexual dysfunction occurs, including decreased libido, premature ejaculation, painful ejaculation, weak erection, and impotence. Type IV has no clinical symptoms.