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Recurrent prostate infection: What are the treatment options?
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-infection/AN00931
- With Mayo Clinic urologist
Erik P. Castle, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Erik P. Castle, M.D.
Erik P. Castle, M.D.
Dr. Erik Castle is a board-certified urologist who joined the Mayo Clinic staff in Arizona in 2007.
Dr. Castle is an associate professor of urology at College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and a senior associate consultant in the Department of Urology, where he also is assistant residency coordinator.
He was an assistant professor in the Department of Urology at Tulane University in New Orleans from 2004 to 2006 after serving as a clinical instructor/fellow at Mayo Clinic in Arizona for one year.
Dr. Castle's research interests include prostate cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer. He is the director of the Desert Mountain Prostate Cancer Research Fund and is the principal investigator of Castle labs housed at the Samuel C. Johnson Medical Research Building at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. His basic science research is focused on novel secondary hormonal therapies of prostate cancer as well as genomics of prostate and bladder cancers.
His surgical expertise includes laparoscopic urology, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with nerve sparing, robot-assisted radical cystectomy with neobladder, robot-assisted retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, robot-assisted partial nephrectomy and other robotic urologic oncology procedures. He has performed many of these procedures as demonstrations internationally. He is a member of the American Association of Clinical Urologists, the American Urological Association, the Endourological Society, and the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. He is past president of the international Society of Urologic Robotic Surgery. He is also the director of the international laparoscopic nephrectomy courses throughout Mexico on behalf of the American Urologic Association.
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- Prostatitis: Can sexual activity make it worse?
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Question
Recurrent prostate infection: What are the treatment options?
What are the treatment options for recurrent prostate infection?
Answer
from Erik P. Castle, M.D.
A recurring prostate infection is also known as chronic bacterial prostatitis. This type of prostate infection is caused by bacteria in the prostate gland. It's generally treated with antibiotics. A prostate infection may recur because antibiotics aren't able to get deep enough into the prostate tissue to destroy all of the bacteria, or because the antibiotic isn't effective against the type of bacterium that's causing the prostate infection.
To treat a prostate infection that doesn't get better with antibiotics or keeps coming back, you may need to:
- Try a different antibiotic. One type of antibiotic may work better than another.
- Take a longer course of an antibiotic, which may last several weeks. In some cases, a course of antibiotics may last two to three months.
- Use medications to help relieve bothersome symptoms, such as alpha blockers to relieve urinary symptoms and anti-inflammatory medications for pain.
If you're taking antibiotics, take them exactly as instructed, even if you feel better. Not taking the full course of antibiotics or missing doses can interfere with the antibiotic's ability to completely kill the bacteria.
If you have recurring prostate infections that don't improve with treatment, see a doctor who specializes in men's urinary and reproductive health (urologist). A urologist might obtain fluid from your prostate to determine the bacterium causing the problem and the antibiotic that is likely to work best. The urologist can also look for any prostate or urinary system problems that would make you more vulnerable to infection. Examples of conditions that increase your risk of recurrent prostate infections include kidney stones, bladder stones and trouble emptying your bladder all the way because of an enlarged prostate.
Next questionProstatitis: Can sexual activity make it worse?
- Pontari M. Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 4, 2011.
- Nickel JC. Inflammatory conditions of the male genitourinary tract: Prostatitis and related conditions, orchitis, and epididymitis. In: Wein AJ, et al. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/117299121-3/794153691/1445/12.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0798-6..50011-X--cesec1_747. Accessed May 4, 2011.
- Murphy AB, et al. Pharmacotherapy strategies in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome management. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. 2010;11:1255.
- Ramakrishnan K, et al. Prostatitis: Acute and chronic. Primary Care. 2010;37:547.
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