Increased intraprostatic pressure in patients with chronic prostatitis.

The purpose of this prospective study was to develop a method for measuring intraprostatic pressure. Intraprostatic, extraprostatic and perineal subcutaneous pressures were measured in 43 patients. Twenty-four patients had chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP) and prostatic hyperplasia (group A), 10 patients had benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (group B) and 9 patients served as controls (group C). The pressure measurements were performed with a Stryker pressure monitor under transrectal ultrasonographic control at three different points: perineal subcutaneous tissue, paraprostatic tissue and the apex of the prostate beneath the capsule. Significantly higher intraprostatic pressure values (P < 0.001) were recorded in the patients with CNP compared with the BPH patients or the controls. We conclude that this novel method of measuring intraprostatic pressure, which has not been reported earlier, could be a new tool in the diagnosis of CNP and in the evaluation of the therapeutic effects of the different treatment modalities used in CNP.