title: The role of Chlamydia trachomatis in prostatitis syndrome--our experience in diagnosis and treatment.
abstract: Since the beginning of 1999, over 1500 patients with symptoms of chronic prostatitis were examined at Dr. Fran Mihaljević University Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb. In almost all of these patients urethral swabs and quantitative segmented bacteriologic cultures and microscopy of expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) or voided bladder urine3 (VB3) were performed as described by Meares and Stamey. Urethral swabs, EPS or VB3 were examined for the presence of Chlamydia (C.) trachomatis by McCoy culture and Lugol stain or by immunofluorescent typing with monoclonal antibodies. In the majority of patients C. trachomatis was demonstrated in parallel in EPS or VB3 by DNA/RNA hybridization method. Normal white blood cell count viewed per high power field<10 was found in 362 (68%) of 536 patients with symptoms of chronic prostatitis and C. trachomatis detected in EPS or VB3. These findings additionally suggest that C. trachomatis can be suspected as a causative pathogen in all categories of chronic prostatitis syndrome. Furthermore, this paper summarizes the results of five previously published clinical studies on the efficacy and tolerability of various treatment schemes for chronic chlamydial prostatitis, conducted from the beginning of 1999 until the end of 2003.
authors.affiliation: Dr Fran Mihaljević University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mirogojska 8, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia. bfm@bfm.hr
authors.forename: Visnja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Skerk
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krhen
authors.forename: Vjeran
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cajić
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Markovinović
authors.forename: Alemka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puntarić
authors.forename: Srdan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roglić
authors.forename: Sime
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zekan
authors.forename: Suncanica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ljubin-Sternak
authors.forename: Snjezana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zidovec Lepej
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vince
mesh_terms: D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011472:Prostatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D013577:Syndrome