title: Questionnaire survey of Japanese urologists concerning the diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We performed a questionnaire survey to investigate various issues in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome by Japanese urologists and to clarify the circumstances surrounding prostatitis in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Japanese urologists (n = 1869) were surveyed by mail using a 17-item questionnaire to determine current diagnostic and treatment practices for prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 1.5% (11/739) of urologists diagnosed chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome using the 4-glass test, while most did so using the 2-glass test (voided bladder [VB]2 and VB3, or VB2 and expressed prostatic secretion [EPS]). Approximately half (55.2%; 412/746) did not perform urine cultures to differentiate chronic bacterial prostatitis from chronic abacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Approximately half (46%; 343/746) did not count the number of leukocytes in VB2 or VB3/EPS to differentiate chronic abacterial prostatitis from chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Although many urologists (63.8%; 459/720) thought that chronic abacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome was not an infectious disease, many chose antimicrobial agents as the primary treatment. More than half (52.2%; 384/735) of all urologists felt pessimistic about dealing with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome compared to treating benign prostatic hypertrophy or prostate cancer, because of the high number of complaints by patients and their own lack of confidence in diagnosing and treating the condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is much confusion and frustration among Japanese urologists about chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Further studies are needed to elucidate its etiology and pathogenesis, and to establish guidelines for its diagnosis and treatment.
authors: Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Jikei University, 3-25-8 Nishish-inbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8641, Japan. kiyota@jikei.ac.jp
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Kiyota
authors: Shoichi
authors: S
authors: Onodera
authors: Yukihiko
authors: Y
authors: Ohishi
authors: Taiji
authors: T
authors: Tsukamoto
authors: Tetsuro
authors: T
authors: Matsumoto
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011472:Prostatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome; D014572:Urology