Prostatitis - Diagnosing prostatitis

Your GP will be able to diagnose prostatitis by asking about your symptoms and carrying out a number of tests.

This page outlines how your GP will diagnose both acute and chronic prostatitis.

Diagnosing acute prostatitis

If you have acute prostatitis, your symptoms will be severe and will have started suddenly.

Your GP will take a sample of your urine, which will be checked for the presence of bacteria.

Your GP may also perform a rectal examination. They will insert a finger into your rectum (bottom) and, because the rectum is close to the prostate gland, they'll be able to determine whether your prostate is inflamed.

The above tests may reveal that you have acute bacterial prostatitis.

Diagnosing chronic prostatitis

Chronic prostatitis (symptoms are less severe but persistent) is diagnosed by asking about your symptoms and ruling out other conditions that could be causing these symptoms.

In order to rule out these types of conditions, you may be given a rectal examination and blood tests.

Imaging studies, such as an ultrasound scan or CT scan, may also be used to help determine the cause of any symptoms.

Instruments, such as a cytoscope, can be used to look at your bladder. A cytoscope is a flexible tube that has a light and a camera at the end.

A cytoscope is placed up into your urethra (tube through which urine passes) and is used to look at your bladder.

The following symptoms may help your doctor to make a diagnosis of chronic prostatitis:

• you have pain in your pelvis, genitals or buttocks
• you feel pain when urinating
• you feel pain when ejaculating
• you have problems with urinating, such as a frequent need to urinate, or a feeling that you haven't emptied your bladder properly after urinating
• the symptoms have persisted for three months or more
• other possible causes of your symptoms have been ruled out

A urine test or a semen test can be taken to help distinguish between bacterial and non-bacterial chronic prostatitis.