Elsevier

Urology

Volume 61, Issue 6, June 2003, Pages 1156-1159
Urology

Adult urology
Acupuncture ameliorates symptoms in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-4295(03)00141-9Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

To determine in a pilot study whether acupuncture improved pain, voiding symptoms, and the quality of life of men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Methods

Men diagnosed with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (National Institutes of Health [NIH] criteria) who were refractory to standard therapy (antibiotics, alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatories, phytotherapy) were referred for acupuncture therapy. The treatment protocol involved three sets of acupuncture points totaling 30 points (8 points were electrically stimulated) given alternatively twice weekly for 6 weeks. The patients completed the NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI) at baseline and the CPSI and subjective global assessment at 6 weeks (end of treatment), 12 weeks, and at least 6 months after the baseline assessment.

Results

Twelve men underwent a minimum of 6 weeks of acupuncture treatment. The average follow-up (from baseline) was 33 weeks (range 24 to 52). A significant decrease occurred in total NIH-CPSI (28.2 to 8.5), NIH-CPSI pain (14.1 to 4.8), NIH-CPSI urinary (5.2 to 1.3), and NIH-CPSI quality-of-life (8.8 to 2.3) scores after an average of 33 weeks of follow-up. Ten patients (83%) had a sustained greater than 50% decrease in NIH-CPSI at final visit (average 33 weeks). Ten patients (83%) reported marked improvement on the subjective global assessment at 12 weeks. At an average of 33 weeks, 8 patients (67%) had sustained marked improvement on subjective global assessment evaluation. No adverse events were reported in this pilot study.

Conclusions

Acupuncture appears to be a safe, effective, and durable treatment in improving symptoms in, and the quality of life of, men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome refractory to treatment. A larger controlled study is required to confirm these encouraging initial results.

Section snippets

Patients

To be eligible to participate in this study, men had to have a clinical diagnosis of CP/CPPS (category III) according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus criteria.8 The CP/CPPS of patients had to be refractory (patient unsatisfied with clinical response) to standard conventional therapy (antibiotics, alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatory agents, phytotherapy). The inclusion/exclusion criteria were compatible (except that patients treated with antibiotics and/or alpha-blockers were

Results

Twelve men who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria for the study underwent a minimum of 6 weeks of acupuncture treatments by December 2001. The average age was 42.4 years (range 26 to 57), and the duration of symptoms was 33 months (range 6 to 54). All participants were followed up for an average of 33 weeks (range 24 to 52 weeks).

A statistically significant decrease occurred in the mean total CPSI score (28.2 to 8.5), CPSI pain subscore (14.1 to 4.8), CPSI urinary subscore (5.2 to 1.3), and

Comment

Acupuncture has been used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of illnesses for more than 2000 years. Traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses differ from Western medicine, to some extent, by the priorities in physical examination and history taking. The practitioners’ observation of the pulse and tongue, as well as a thorough patient interview, to assess the body’s balance of yin and yang (hot or cold properties) for evaluating the deficiency or excess patterns of

Conclusions

This pilot study assessing the potential benefits of acupuncture in patients with CP/CPPS included men with an NIH-defined clinical diagnosis of CPPS, standardized inclusion/exclusion criteria, and follow-up using validated outcome parameters. However, the study group was small, uncontrolled, and was not compared with a placebo/sham or active comparator treatment group. Despite these limitations, however, the results of the study suggest that acupuncture appears to be a safe and potentially

Acknowledgements

To Sona Tahan, M.D., Medical Director of Education, Acupuncture Foundation of Canada for her valuable advice.

References (21)

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