Seminal microflora in asymptomatic inflammatory (NIH IV category) prostatitis.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Microbiology
• Immunology

Background:

• Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis (NIH IV category) diagnosis lacks specific etiological markers.
• The role of seminal microorganisms in prostatitis requires further elucidation.
• Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and seminal white blood cell (WBC) counts are potential inflammatory markers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the necessity of quantitative semen microflora analysis for identifying microbial roles in asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis.
• To correlate seminal WBC counts with IL-6 levels in these patients.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative microbiological semen analysis was performed on 37 men with NIH IV prostatitis and 32 controls.
• Seminal plasma IL-6 levels and routine semen parameters were assessed.
• WBC counts in semen were analyzed.

Main Results:

• NIH IV prostatitis patients exhibited significantly higher seminal plasma IL-6 concentrations and WBC counts compared to controls.
• A strong positive correlation was observed between IL-6 levels and WBC counts (r=0.74, p<0.001).
• Quantitative analysis revealed significantly higher total microbial concentration and species diversity in prostatitis patients, with a predominance of anaerobic microorganisms.

Conclusions:

• NIH IV prostatitis patients present with abundant polymicrobial semen flora, including anaerobic, microaerophilic, and aerobic bacteria.
• IL-6 detection in seminal plasma is a valuable supplementary diagnostic tool for NIH IV prostatitis.
• Quantitative semen microflora analysis is crucial for understanding the etiology of asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis.