[Four-glass or two glass test for chronic prostatitis].

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Microbiology
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Chronic pelvic pain syndrome remains a significant clinical challenge.
• The NIH prostatitis classification relies on the 4-glass test for diagnosis and treatment.
• The 4-glass test involves extensive microbiological analysis of urine and expressed prostate secretion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic equivalence of a simplified urine culture method compared to the 4-glass test for chronic prostatitis.
• To determine if pre- and post-prostatic massage urine cultures yield comparable results to the 4-glass test.
• To propose a more efficient diagnostic approach for chronic prostatitis.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 143 patients diagnosed with chronic prostatitis.
• Collection and microbiological analysis of urine samples before and after prostatic massage.
• Comparison of results with the standard 4-glass test.

Main Results:

• The study confirmed that urine culture before and after prostatic massage yields results consistent with the 4-glass test.
• This simplified method demonstrated comparable diagnostic accuracy to the traditional 4-glass test.
• No significant differences were observed between the two diagnostic approaches.

Conclusions:

• A simple preprostatic and postprostatic massage urine culture can replace the expensive and time-consuming 4-glass test.
• This simplified method is recommended for routine diagnosis of chronic prostatitis.
• Further investigations are warranted only in specific clinical scenarios.