What Is Prostatitis And Its Categories?

Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, in men. A prostatitis diagnosis comprised about 8% of all urologist and 1% of which go which visits primary care physician in the United States.

The term prostatitis refers, in its strictest sense, to histological (microscopic) inflammation of the tissue of the prostate gland, although it is loosely (and confusingly) used to describe several completely different conditions. To remedy this, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) devised a new classification system in 1999, comprising four categories of prostatitis:

1. Acute prostatitis is a serious bacterial infection of the prostate gland. This infection is a medical emergency. It should be distinguished from other forms of prostatitis such as chronic bacterial prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS).
2. Chronic bacterial prostatitis is a bacterial infection of the prostate gland. It should be distinguished from other forms of prostatitis such as acute bacterial prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS).
3. Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a pelvic pain condition in men, and should be distinguished from other forms of prostatitis such as chronic bacterial prostatitis and acute bacterial prostatitis.
4. Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis is a symptomless microscopic condition of the prostate gland. It should be distinguished from other forms of prostatitis such as chronic bacterial prostatitis, acute bacterial prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS)

Each of these categories will be explained further in my next posting.