Diagnosing the prostatitis patient: the dilemma continues

National Institutes of Health Category III prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome continues to pose a diagnostic and treatment challenge to most urologists. While this form of so-called prostatitis is the most prevalent and frustrating, little progress has been made in proving an etiology and consequently, in finding an effective remedy. The diagnostic dilemma is illustrated by the conflicting data employed to describe prostatitis. What is prostatitis? Is it a malady of the prostate gland itself? Is it a form of voiding dysfunction? Is it a myofascial pain syndrome? Or, is prostatitis urology's brand of functional somatic syndrome? It is time we address the dilemma by looking beyond the prostate gland and toward a multidisciplinary perspective.