Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: national survey of genitourinary medicine clinics

We sought to determine current practice in the diagnosis and management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) in genitourinary medicine departments in the UK, using a detailed questionnaire survey. Evaluable responses were received from 147 (69%) clinics. Seventy-nine (54%) clinics reported seeing >10 new CPPS patients per year. A broad range of investigations was reported to be used in the diagnosis of CPPS. Whilst 89 (61%) clinics reported using the four-glass test in diagnosis, 46 (32%) reported using the test in >90% of patients with CPPS, and 42 (29%) reported never using the test. In the treatment, doxycycline or ciprofloxacin were reported to be first line treatment by 98% clinics, mostly in 4-6 week courses; however, great variation was recorded in second-line choices and use of non-antibiotic approaches. This survey demonstrates that patients with CPPS are regularly diagnosed and managed in genitourinary clinics in the UK, with wide variations in diagnostic and treatment practices.