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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffDiagnosing prostatitis involves ruling out other conditions that may be causing your symptoms and determining what kind of prostatitis you have. Your evaluation will include a general physical exam and a series of diagnostic tests:
- Symptom questionnaire. Your doctor may ask you to fill out a questionnaire called the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. This form asks you to score various factors regarding pain, discomfort, urination and the impact of symptoms. Your total score can help your doctor in making a diagnosis and monitoring the effect of treatments.
- Digital rectal exam. During a digital rectal exam, your doctor manually examines your prostate gland by gently inserting a lubricated, gloved finger into your rectum. Your doctor will be able to feel the surface of the prostate and judge whether it is enlarged, tender or inflamed.
- Urine and semen test. Your doctor may want to evaluate samples of your urine and semen for bacteria and white blood cells — key cells in immune system responses — to help establish a diagnosis of prostatitis. Your doctor will likely take a series of samples before, during and after massaging your prostate with a lubricated, gloved finger.
- Cystoscopy. Your doctor may use an instrument called a cystoscope to examine the urethra and bladder. A cystoscope is a small tube with a light and small magnifying lens or camera that's inserted through the urethra and into the bladder. This test is used to rule out other conditions that could cause your symptoms.
- Urodynamic tests. Your doctor may order one or more urodynamic tests, which are used to check the function of your bladder and its ability to empty itself steadily and completely. This can help your doctor identify other disorders or understand how prostatitis is affecting your ability to urinate.
References
- Meyrier A, et al. Acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Pontari MA. Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Schaeffer AJ. Clinical practice. Chronic prostatitis and the chronic pelvic pain syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:1690-1698.
- Prostatitis: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments. Linthicum, MD: American Urological Association Foundation; 2005.
- Nickel J. Inflammatory conditions of the male genitourinary tract: Prostatitis and related conditions, orchitis, and epididymitis. In: Wein A, et al., eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/117299121-3/794153691/1445/12.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0798-6..50011-X--cesec1_747. Accessed Jan. 21, 2009.
- Pontari MA. Etiologic theories of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Current Urology Reports. 2007;8:307-312.
