Inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis)

There are various types of prostatitis. The different types are distinguished on the basis of their pattern of occurrence and cause:

• acute or chronic
• bacterial or abacterial

This condition is the most common urological disorder diagnosed in men under 50, and about 10% of men will develop prostatitis at some point in their lives.

Prostatitis is commonly classified using the National Institute of Health classification system:

• Category I: Acute bacterial prostatitis
  ➔ This is an acute infection of the prostate.
• Category II: Chronic bacterial prostatitis
  ➔ This is inflammation of the prostate as a result of repeated infections over a period of at least 3 months.
  → 5% of chronic prostatitis is bacterial in origin.
• Category III: Chronic abacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS)
  → No bacteria can be detected.
  → 95% of chronic prostatitis falls into this category.

  Category III is divided into the following sub-categories:

  • Category III a: Evidence of inflammation can be detected in prostatic secretions.
  • Category III b: No evidence of inflammation can be detected in prostatic secretions.
• Category IV: Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis
  → The patient has no symptoms, but a prostate biopsy or analysis of prostatic secretions shows evidence of inflammation.