Korean J Androl.  1998 Jun;16(1):93-97.

Are Chronic Prostatitis and Urethritis Related?

• Cho IP
• Kim DW
• Chang YS
• Park SS
• Choi HS

Abstract

PURPOSE: It is the general conception that chronic prostatitis is initiated by urethritis. However, in the actual clinical situations, many male patients without histories of urethritis. To evaluate the possible relationship, a review of patients with chronic prostatitis was carried out.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three hundred consecutive patients with prostatitis were reviewed retrospectively concerning the duration of prostatits, any history of urethritis, and the history of intercourse, including that with a high-risk partner(e.g., prostitute). RESULT: A history of urethritis was found in 216 of the patients(72%),but 30 patients(10%) denied both high-risk sexual intercourse and urethritis. In 54 patients (18%), there was no history of urethritis but a recognized sexual encounter with a high-risk partner.
CONCLUSIONS
Having urethritis may not be an important factor in chronic prostatitis. This information could be most comforting to those who are afflicted with chronic prostatitis and concerned about the nature of their disease. Chronic prostatitis can be explained simply as an inflammation of prostate, not a dreadful end result of sexually transmitted disease.

Keyword

Prostatitis; Urethritis

MeSH Terms

Coitus
Fertilization
Humans
Inflammation
Male
Prostate
Prostatitis*
Retrospective Studies
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Urethritis*