Chronic pelvic pain syndrome and voiding dysfunction.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a disease that is mainly characterized by three parameters: pain in the suprapubic and pelvic area, presence or absence of white blood cells in expressed prostatic secretions, and voiding disorders of various degrees. The causative factors underlying this very common condition are poorly understood. Therapeutic options (ie, antimicrobial treatment) often are based on the presence of an inflammatory reaction in the expressed prostatic secretions, but the benefit of recurring or prolonged courses of antimicrobial agents is highly variable. Observations have been made regarding functional and structural changes in the lower urinary tract that are suggestive to have an impact on the pathogenesis of chronic pelvic pain syndrome.