Prostatitis

If your doctor suspects that you have prostatitis, he or she will begin with a complete Reference medical history and physical exam. The type of prostatitis that you have cannot be determined solely from your history and symptoms. Your doctor will do tests to find out the cause of your prostatitis.

Reference Acute prostatitis is the least common type but the easiest to diagnose. If acute prostatitis is suspected, a Reference urine culture will be done to test for the presence and type of bacteria.

If your history and physical exam show that you do not have acute prostatitis, a Reference pre- and post-massage test (PPMT) or Reference expressed prostatic secretions test may be done to find out which type of prostatitis you have. An expressed prostatic secretions test is not done if acute prostatitis is suspected, because when the prostate is inflamed or infected, massaging it to obtain a sample for tests is very painful and possibly dangerous. Some doctors believe that massaging an infected prostate increases the risk of developing a bacterial infection of the blood (Reference septicemia).

More tests may be needed if:

• Your symptoms do not improve with treatment.
• You continue to have prostate infections.
• The symptoms could be caused by bladder or prostate cancer.
• Your doctor suspects you have a complication related to prostatitis, such as an Reference abscess Opens New Window.

Tests that may be done include:

• Reference Complete blood count (CBC).
• Reference Digital rectal exam, to check for growths in the prostate gland or to see if it is larger than normal.
• Reference Blood culture, to check for bacteria in your blood if you have acute prostatitis.
• Reference Computed tomography (CT) scan or Reference magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of your pelvic area.
• Reference Transrectal ultrasound of your pelvic area.
• Reference Prostate specific antigen (PSA).

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