Practical approach to bacteriologic investigation of chronic prostatitis.

Chronic prostatitis is a common disorder sometimes caused by bacterial infection of the prostate. Documentation of such infection requires quantitative culture of carefully collected sequential urine and prostatic fluid specimens (bacterial localization cultures). However, culture of the midstream urine and prostatic fluid alone usually is sufficient to rule out this diagnostic possibility. A practical strategy for the bacteriologic investigation of chronic prostatitis that combines each of these maneuvers--midstream urine and prostatic fluid culture first, then subsequent bacterial localization cultures if pathogenic bacteria are isolated from the initial cultures--is outlined.