What viruses cause prostatitis

Research suggests that chronic nonbacterial prostatitis may result from a cascade of interconnected events. The initiating event may be stress, an undetectable infectious agent, or a physical trauma that causes inflammation or nerve damage in the genitourinary area. Over time, this may lead to heightened sensitivity of the nervous system. Because men often suffer from multiple symptoms simultaneously—such as pain and difficulty urinating—they may require several types of medication or other therapy, depending on the pattern of symptoms.

These include antibiotics, Pain relievers, a medication to reduce the urge to urinate, a medication to ease urine flow by relaxing the muscles at the neck of the bladder, and even some alternative therapies such as myofascial release.

This is usually discovered during tests for another medical condition, such as infertility or other prostate disorders. White blood cells are present in the urine or prostate secretions, but there are no symptoms. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

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Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Recent Blog Articles. Urologists most often use transrectal ultrasound to examine the prostate.

The ultrasound image shows the size of the prostate and any abnormalities, such as tumors. Transrectal ultrasound cannot reliably diagnose prostate cancer. Biopsy is a procedure that involves taking a small piece of prostate tissue for examination with a microscope. A urologist performs the biopsy in an outpatient center or a hospital. He or she will give the patient light sedation and local anesthetic; however, in some cases, the patient will require general anesthesia. The urologist uses imaging techniques such as ultrasound, a computerized tomography scan, or magnetic resonance imaging to guide the biopsy needle into the prostate.

A pathologist—a doctor who specializes in examining tissues to diagnose diseases—examines the prostate tissue in a lab. The test can show whether prostate cancer is present. Semen analysis. A health care provider analyzes the sample during an office visit or sends it to a lab for analysis.

A semen sample can show blood and signs of infection. A wide range of symptoms exists and no single treatment works for every man. Although antibiotics will not help treat nonbacterial prostatitis, a urologist may prescribe them, at least initially, until the urologist can rule out a bacterial infection.

A urologist may prescribe other medications:. To help ensure coordinated and safe care, people should discuss their use of complementary and alternative medical practices, including their use of dietary supplements, with their health care provider. Read more at www. To help measure the effectiveness of treatment, a urologist may ask a series of questions from a standard questionnaire called the National Institutes of Health NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index.

A urologist may ask questions several times, such as before, during, and after treatment. A urologist treats acute bacterial prostatitis with antibiotics.

The antibiotic prescribed may depend on the type of bacteria causing the infection. Urologists usually prescribe oral antibiotics for at least 2 weeks. The infection may come back; therefore, some urologists recommend taking oral antibiotics for 6 to 8 weeks. Severe cases of acute prostatitis may require a short hospital stay so men can receive fluids and antibiotics through an intravenous IV tube.

After the IV treatment, the man will need to take oral antibiotics for 2 to 4 weeks. Most cases of acute bacterial prostatitis clear up completely with medication and slight changes to diet. The urologist may recommend. A urologist treats chronic bacterial prostatitis with antibiotics; however, treatment requires a longer course of therapy. The urologist may prescribe a low dose of antibiotics for up to 6 months to prevent recurrent infection.

The urologist may also prescribe a different antibiotic or use a combination of antibiotics if the infection keeps coming back. The urologist may recommend increasing intake of liquids and avoiding or reducing intake of substances that irritate the bladder. These medications help relax the bladder muscles near the prostate and lessen symptoms such as painful urination.

Men may require surgery to treat urinary retention caused by chronic bacterial prostatitis. Surgically removing scar tissue in the urethra often improves urine flow and reduces urinary retention. Men cannot prevent prostatitis. Researchers are currently seeking to better understand what causes prostatitis and develop prevention strategies.

Additionally, PDC transferred either intravenously or intraperitoneally efficiently caused the autoimmune response to RAG in normal receptors. The investigators concluded that their results support the involvement of PDC in the induction of autoimmune prostatitis, modifying the idea of macrophages as the single antigen-presenting cells in the peritoneal cavity.

These provocative data warrant further exploration, in particular the complete characterization of the antigen s that may be involved in eliciting an autoimmune response and investigation of whether there is any relationship to human chronic idiopathic prostatitis. Reports published within the past 2 years strongly suggest an association between bacteria and chronic idiopathic prostatitis. Both molecular and specialized culture findings designed to detect fastidious and difficult-to-culture bacteria in prostatic tissue and fluids point to a possible etiologic role for these microorganisms.

The molecular data were particularly significant because prostate biopsy specimens were obtained for a population of men who could not be diagnosed by optimal clinical and microbiologic methods. Therefore, potential study subjects were excluded if they exhibited bacteriuria, bacterial prostatitis, or urethritis or if they had a urethral culture that was positive for urogenital pathogens.

It is unlikely that the demonstrated molecular and cultural evidence represents contamination, because of the extreme care taken in procuring and handling the clinical specimens, including the use of a double-needle biopsy method to limit skin contamination and positive and negative controls incorporated in the molecular experiments as well as an internal housekeeping gene control.

It will be important to classify the sequences of the isolated organism at the genus and species level, since this has not yet been accomplished for the amplified bacterial nucleic acids derived from prostate tissue. Future studies should be directed toward more nucleic acid-based experimentation to define the microbiology of the prostate gland and to determine the relationship of these bacteria to chronic idiopathic prostatitis.

Once the etiology is known, a logical next step would be to devise methods for delivery of antimicrobial or immune reagents which might help eliminate the foci of infection in prostatic tissue. There is an urgent need to better understand the virulence properties of bacteria that are associated with chronic infection of the prostate.

Identifying such a factor s would be helpful in devising effective treatment strategies. It is important to determine whether there is persistence of bacterial antigens in prostatic tissue and fluids, since these antigens could trigger immunologic and biochemical events that may result in initiation and maintenance of chronic inflammation in this troublesome condition.

For those ascribing to an autoimmune theory, it will be necessary to identify the antigen s in human idiopathic prostatitis that initiates immune system pathologic changes and to rule out the possibility that this antigen s is not derived from microbes. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Clin Microbiol Rev v. Clin Microbiol Rev. Gerald J. Domingue, Sr. Hellstrom 1.

Wayne J. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Phone: Fax: E-mail: ude. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract The laboratory diagnosis of acute bacterial prostatitis is straightforward and easily accomplished in clinical laboratories.

Acute and Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis Bacterial infection of the prostate gland may occur as a result of ascending urethral infection or by reflux of infected urine into prostatic ducts emptying into the posterior urethra. Open in a separate window. Chlamydia trachomatis Because chlamydiae are fastidious bacteria that require cell systems for growth, they cannot be propagated on artificial culture media used for ordinary bacteria.

Ureaplasma urealyticum Although Ureaplasma urealyticum has long been implicated as sometimes causing nongonococcal urethritis, its role as an etiologic agent of prostatitis is controversial. Gonococcal Prostatitis Gonococcal prostatitis was first demonstrated in by Sargent and Irwin Parasitic Prostatitis Parasitic prostatitis is rare in the United States and elsewhere. Fungal Prostatitis Fungal prostatitis is confirmed by means of prostatic histology and culture of prostatic fluid and tissue.

Abscesses of the Prostate Gland Abscesses of the prostate gland have been associated with a variety of microorganisms: Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas species, staphylococci, and, occasionally, obligate anaerobic bacteria. Viral Prostatitis There are few literature reports on viral prostatitis.

Chlamydia trachomatis in chronic abacterial prostatitis: demonstration of calorimetric in situ hybridization. Hum Pathol. Urovirulence determinants in Escherichia coli strains causing prostatitis. J Infect Dis. Prostatitis in benign prostatic hyperplasia: a histological, bacteriological and clinical study.

Acta Med Croat. Cytomegalovirus prostatitis. Bacteria in the prostate tissue of men with idiopathic prostatic inflammation. J Urol. Case-control study of men with suspected chronic idiopathic prostatitis.

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Evaluation of in vitro and in vivo effectiveness of azithromycin. J Chemother. Colleen S, Mardh P. Effect of metacycline treatment on non-acute prostatitis. Scand J Urol Nephrol. Involvement of peritoneal dendritic cells in the induction of autoimmune prostatitis. J Autoimmun. Danielson D, Molin L. Demonstration of N. Acta Dermatol Venereol. Prostatodynia and Herpes simplex virus infection. The role of Chlamydia trachomatis in chronic abacterial prostatitis: a study using ultrasound guided biopsy.

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Identity and significance. Fowler J E. Adult and pediatric urology. Louis, Mo: Mosby—Year Book; Tuberculous prostatic abscess in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Arch Esp Urol. Trichomonas vaginalis in the prostate gland. Lab Med. J Clin Microbiol. Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in chronic prostatitis by in situ hybridization preliminary methodical report Orv Hetil.

Development of a mouse model for nonbacterial prostatitis. Update on clinical significance of coagulase-negative staphylococci. A study of the role of Chlamydia trachomatis in chronic prostatitis—analysis of anti- Chlamydia trachomatis specific IgA in expressed prostate secretion by western-blotting method. Kansenshogaku Zasshi. Prokaryotic DNA sequences in patients with chronic idiopathic prostatitis.

Krieger J N. Prostatitis, epididymitis, and orchitis. Y: Churchill Livingstone, Inc. Zinc sensitivity of Trichomonas vaginalis : in vitro studies and clinical implications. Kuberski T. Trichomonas vaginalis associated with nongonococcal urethritis and prostatitis.

Sex Transm Dis. Rare cases of prostatitis caused by invasion of Trichomonas vaginalis with Candida albicans. Wiad Parazytol. Incidence of granulomatous prostatitis and acid-fast bacilli after intravesical BCG therapy. Bacterial infection in prostatodynia.

Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in serum and ejaculate of male patients without acute urethritis. Ann Urol. Symptoms can start quickly, and can include: Chills Fever Flushing of the skin Lower stomach tenderness Body aches Symptoms of chronic prostatitis are similar, but not as severe. Urinary symptoms include: Blood in the urine Burning or pain with urination Difficulty starting to urinate or emptying the bladder Foul-smelling urine Weak urine stream Other symptoms that may occur with this condition: Pain or aching in the abdomen above the pubic bone, in the lower back, in the area between the genitals and anus, or in the testicles Pain with ejaculation or blood in the semen Pain with bowel movements If prostatitis occurs with an infection in or around the testicles epididymitis or orchitis , you may also have symptoms of that condition.

Exams and Tests. During a physical exam, your health care provider may find: Enlarged or tender lymph nodes in your groin Fluid released from your urethra Swollen or tender scrotum The provider may perform a digital rectal exam to examine your prostate. The exam may reveal that the prostate is: Large and soft with a chronic prostate infection Swollen, or tender with an acute prostate infection Urine samples may be collected for urinalysis and urine culture.

Antibiotics are often used to treat prostate infections. For acute prostatitis, you will take antibiotics for 2 to 6 weeks. For chronic prostatitis, you will take antibiotics for at least 2 to 6 weeks. Because the infection can come back, you may need to take medicine for up to 12 weeks. To care for prostatitis at home : Urinate often and completely. Take warm baths to relieve pain.

Take stool softeners to make bowel movements more comfortable. Avoid substances that irritate your bladder, such as alcohol, caffeinated foods and drinks, citrus juices, and hot or spicy foods. Drink more fluid 64 to ounces or 2 to 4 liters per day to urinate often and help flush bacteria out of your bladder. Outlook Prognosis. Acute prostatitis should go away with medicine and minor changes to your diet and behavior.

It may come back or turn into chronic prostatitis. Possible Complications. Complications may include: Abscess Inability to urinate urinary retention Spread of bacteria from the prostate to the bloodstream sepsis Chronic pain or discomfort Inability to have sex sexual dysfunction.