PSA blood test for prostatitis

Diagnosing prostate inflammation at this time is a very simple procedure for the doctor. In addition to the rare atypical forms of the disease, it is relatively easy to diagnose acute prostatitis.

During the treatment of the disease, the patient needs to undergo a series of laboratory and instrumental tests. Often, patients are interested in knowing why they need to have a general PSA blood test for prostatitis. Not everyone understands the role of this marker in the diagnosis of the underlying disease.

What is PSA?

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a special glycoprotein produced exclusively by prostate cells. Its main role is the liquefaction and activation of sperm during ejaculation formation.

This protein can be found in the blood and, as it is produced only in the prostate, it partially demonstrates its function and all types of lesions.

It is widely used in the diagnosis of diseases such as:

• Chronic prostatitis;
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia - prostate adenoma;
• Malignant neoplasms of the male organ - prostate cancer.

A general PSA blood test in chronic prostatitis can show the progress of the disease and a dangerous complication of the disease, which is manifested by the degeneration of damaged cells into atypical with the formation of prostate cancer.

Prostate-specific antigen is a tumor marker that may indicate the presence of a tumor at an early stage of development.

normal indicators

As the protein is synthesized in the tissues of the male gland, the presence of a small volume of it in the blood is the norm. The screening threshold for normal activity of a tumor marker is a value of up to 4 ng/ml in blood.

The amount of protein directly depends on the following factors:

• The age of man. There is some correlation between the patient's age and the activity of producing a marker by the gland;

Years old	PSA index, ng / ml
40-49	2, 5
50-59	3, 5
60-69	4, 5
>70	6, 5

• The regularity of sexual intercourse;
• The presence of an inflammatory process in the prostate;
• Physical trauma and organ damage;
• Postponed surgical interventions or specific diagnostic procedures (prostate massage, digital rectal examination);
• Taking medications.

All of these aspects can affect the count of antigens in the bloodstream and, at times, even confuse doctors. This is why it is necessary to know how to correctly pass a PSA blood test for general male prostatitis in order for additional therapy to be successful.

PSA Preparation

Before a man can donate blood for prostate specific antigen detection, he should note some important points that avoid misinterpretation of the final result.

To avoid laboratory errors, the patient should take the following characteristics into account:

1. You must not eat 8 hours before the blood draw. You can drink tea, juice or water.
2. Avoid bicycling, stationary cycling or long-distance walking (>5 km) 24 hours before the start of the study.
3. 1 week before the test, you need to abstain from sexual intercourse and masturbation, eating spicy and smoked foods.
4. If the patient has undergone transrectal prostate ultrasound (TRUS), digital examination of the rectum, colonoscopy, or bladder catheterization, it is necessary to wait at least 7 days before determining the PSA in the blood.
5. After a prostate biopsy or massage, you need to wait 2 weeks.

Only if all these rules are observed will it be possible to say that the PSA blood test for general prostatitis is really reliable.

Decoding and PSA Test Objectives

The main objective of this test is the ability to monitor the course of the chronic form of the disease and quickly identify the problem if malignancy (tumor formation) of the prostate occurs.

In diseases such as acute, chronic, bacterial congestive prostatitis, the PSA level may increase slightly to 5 ng/ml. This is not yet a cause for panic. If, after performing the appropriate drug therapy, the indicator does not return to normal, it is considered an absolute indication for the puncture of an organ with its subsequent histological examination.

Normally, the larger the volume of the prostate, the more cells are able to produce glycoprotein. It has been clinically proven that 1 gram of organ parenchyma in benign hyperplasia additionally synthesizes 0. 35 ng/ml of antigen. The same indicator for cancer is 3, 5 ng / ml.

This proportion allows physicians with a high degree of reliability to assess the possibility of developing malignant neoplasms in chronic inflammation of the prostate. According to statistics, 83% of cancer patients simultaneously suffered from prolonged inflammation in the male gland. This allows us to consider this pathology as a predictor of cancer.

Conclusion

A blood test for PSA in prostatitis is part of the mandatory testing of urological patients. Its importance can hardly be overestimated, as it can safely indicate the formation of atypical cell growth, which leads to the development of malignant neoplasms.