Calculating prostatitis is a complication of a chronic inflammatory process in the prostate. With this disease, calculus is formed in the excretory ducts of the prostate and acini. As a result of the development of the pathological process, the patient's desire to urinate becomes more frequent, pain occurs in the perineum and lower abdomen, and erection is impaired. You should not follow the course of this illness as it can lead to a number of health problems.
What is calculous prostatitis
This disease is a form of chronic prostatitis. The disease is characterized by the formation of prostatoliths or calculi, which is one of the most frequent consequences of a prolonged inflammatory process observed in the prostate.
Stones in the prostate are most often detected during a routine exam in about 9% of men of different ages.
There are three age peaks in the incidence of this form of prostatitis:
- 30-39 years old. As a rule, the disease is not detected in patients under 30 years of age. However, the disease is gradually getting younger. In people in this age group, the development of calculous prostatitis is associated with a long course of chronic prostatitis caused by gonorrhea, chlamydia, ureaplasmosis, or mycoplasmosis.
- 40-59 years old. In men of this age group, the disease usually causes prostate adenoma.
- More than 60 years old. In this case, calculous prostatitis usually develops in the context of extinction of the sexual function.
Causes and risk factors
The formation of stones in the prostate can be due to two types of reasons:
- True or primary, which are characterized by the direct development of the disease in the gland ducts or acini.
- Secondary or false, in which stones migrate from the upper urinary tract. Most of the time, the place of formation is the bladder, kidneys or urethra. The reason for the development of calculous prostatitis could be urolithiasis.
Depending on the nature of the onset of the disease, the reasons for its development are divided into two groups:
- Exogenous. In this case, we are talking about those factors that do not concern the body's work, but act on it from the outside. This includes addiction to drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
- Endogenous. Concretions occur in the context of any disturbances in the functioning of the body. We are talking about organ injuries or complications after surgery. Bacterial damage to the prostate is also related to these factors.
Alcohol abuse can trigger the development of calculous prostatitis in men.
Calculating prostatitis usually develops in the context of stagnant inflammatory changes in the prostate. Such processes arise due to insufficient emptying of the prostate glands, therefore, the following factors are the main causes of the disease:
- lack of regular sex life;
- the predominance of sedentary lifestyle;
- replace sex with masturbation;
- bad habits such as alcoholism or smoking;
- inflammatory processes of the prostate caused by the penetration of microbes into the organ.
Experts distinguish between two main pathological mechanisms that lead to the formation of stones in the organ and its ducts:
- Violation of the secretory function, as a result of which a significant stagnation of prostate secretion forms.
- Throwing urine into the prostate cavity. This can occur in the context of the inadequate functioning of the genitourinary system, the formation of fistulas and the influence of a number of other negative factors.
Symptoms
The signs of calculous prostatitis are in many ways similar to the development of chronic inflammation of the prostate, but they are more pronounced. Most patients diagnosed with prostatitis in this way complain of difficulty and pain when urinating.
The difference from chronic prostatitis in this case is the pain present in the patient 24 hours a day, not just at night. The reason for such clinical picture is most often the disturbed process of urine flow and secretions from the prostate. This is due to total or partial obstruction of the duct with a stone.
A number of other symptoms of the disease should also be highlighted:
- The presence of pain in the pelvis and perineum. Also, they can manifest themselves not just during urination. Patients have unpleasant sensations in the coccyx and lower abdomen, which do not depend on the specific time of day.
- Pathological impurities appear in the semen. Frequently, bloody secretion is found and only in extreme cases pus may be present.
- Pain when urinating against the background of frequent false cravings. In most patients, very little urine is excreted. However, it may be completely absent.
- Erectile dysfunction. Because the prostate duct is blocked, the normal flow of semen from the organ is interrupted. All of this leads to the impossibility of completing sexual intercourse.
In more severe cases of disease development, the patient may completely lose erection and significantly decrease libido.
Diagnosis
Magnetic resonance imaging offers good results for the accurate identification of the disease.
Before treating calculous prostatitis, the patient must be examined carefully. The urologist is committed to diagnosing this disease. He is required to make a preliminary diagnosis based on the patient's complaints, as well as a subsequent physical and instrumental examination. It includes the following procedures:
- Digital rectal exam of the prostate. It is performed by palpation. In the presence of calculous prostatitis, the patient has a kind of crackling and a bumpy surface of calculi.
- Transrectal ultrasound of the prostate. Through this procedure, calculi that present the appearance of hyperechoic formations with a clearly visible acoustic path are identified. The number of such formations, their size, location and structure are studied.
- Research urography. The procedure allows to identify the presence of prostalite.
- Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of the prostate. These techniques are highly effective and are used to confirm the results of previous studies.
As additional procedures are used: urethrography, pyelography and cystography.
In addition to instrumental techniques, the diagnosis of calculous prostatitis includes laboratory tests, which include the following procedures:
- Study of prostate secretion.
- Analysis for bacteriological culture of urine and material from the urethra.
- PCR study, during which a scraping is performed, studied for the presence of genital infections.
- Bloodtests. Most of the time, a biochemical analysis is provided.
- Urine analysis.
- Semen analysis for biochemistry.
- Bacteriological seeding of ejaculation.
If we are talking about making differential diagnoses, then your task is to differentiate calculous prostatitis from tuberculosis, prostate adenoma, prostate oncology, as well as various types of prostatitis.
Treatment
How to cure calculus prostatitis? Therapy for calculous prostatitis is prescribed by a physician based on a complete diagnosis. Depending on the degree of development of the disease, several treatment options are possible. Let's consider each of them in more detail.
drug therapy
The course of treatment is strictly prescribed by the physician on an individual basis.
Treatment of chronic calculous prostatitis with pills can take one to three months. This type of therapy is primarily aimed at achieving stable remission and preventing complications of the disease.
Regardless of the cause of the disease, antibacterial drugs are prescribed to the patient. Antibiotics are prescribed based on the results of urethral secretion analysis and urine culture.
The most common remedies used to treat calculous prostatitis are:
- Fluoroquinolones. This is the most effective group of antibiotics used to treat calculous prostatitis. However, these funds can only be used after the presence of tuberculosis has been completely excluded.
- Tetracyclines. They are used less frequently as they tend to cause side effects to occur.
- Penicillins. Classic antibiotics that have a wide range of effects on pathogenic microflora.
- Cephalosporins.
Physiotherapy
To increase the effect of drug therapy and improve prostate function, the following physical therapy techniques are used:
- Magnetotherapy. It is used to eliminate edema and normalize the blood circulation process.
- Laser therapy. It eliminates the painful syndrome and helps reduce the inflammatory process.
- Prostate Massage. Allows restoring the patency of the ducts, improving blood circulation in the prostate.
In some cases, the treatment of calculous prostatitis requires a radical approach. In this case, several surgical techniques are used, the most popular of which is prostatectomy.
possible complications
Sport is the best prevention of calculus prostatitis.
If the patient does not receive timely treatment, he may develop chronic calculous prostatitis. This can be fraught with the following dangerous complications:
- the development of an abscess;
- prostate fibrosis;
- problems with potency;
- urinary incontinence;
- various forms of vesiculitis.
Therefore, it is very important to timely identify calculus prostatitis and start treating it. As prophylaxis of this disease, one should give up alcohol and tobacco, play sports, treat infections in time and prevent hypothermia in the body.