Mepartricin

To assess the effects of pharmacological therapies for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).

We performed a comprehensive search using multiple databases, trial registries, grey literature and conference proceedings with no restrictions on the language of publication or publication status. The date of the latest search of all databases was July 2019. We included randomised controlled trials. Inclusion criteria were men with a diagnosis of CP/CPPS. We included all available pharmacological interventions. Two review authors independently classified studies and abstracted data from the included studies, performed statistical analyses and rated quality of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methods. The primary outcomes were prostatitis symptoms and adverse events. The secondary outcomes were sexual dysfunction, urinary symptoms, quality of life, anxiety and depression.

We included 99 unique studies in 9119 men with CP/CPPS, with assessments of 16 types of pharmacological interventions. Most of our comparisons included short‐term follow‐up information. The median age of the participants was 38 years. Most studies did not specify their funding sources; 21 studies reported funding from pharmaceutical companies.We found low‐ to very low‐quality evidence that α‐blockers may reduce prostatitis symptoms based on a reduction in National Institutes of Health – Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH‐CPSI) scores of >2 (but <8) with an increased incidence of minor adverse events such as dizziness and hypotension. Moderate‐ to low‐quality evidence indicates that 5α‐reductase inhibitors, antibiotics, anti‐inflammatories, and phytotherapy probably cause a small decrease in prostatitis symptoms and may not be associated with a greater incidence of adverse events. Intraprostatic botulinum toxin A (BTA) injection may cause a large reduction in prostatitis symptoms with procedure‐related adverse events (haematuria), but pelvic floor muscle BTA injection may not have the same effects (low‐quality evidence). Allopurinol may also be ineffective for reducing prostatitis symptoms (low‐quality evidence). We assessed a wide range of interventions involving traditional Chinese medicine; low‐quality evidence showed they may reduce prostatitis symptoms without an increased incidence in adverse events.Moderate‐ to high‐quality evidence indicates that the following interventions may be ineffective for the reduction of prostatitis symptoms: anticholinergics, Escherichia coli lysate (OM‐89), pentosan, and pregabalin. Low‐ to very low‐quality evidence indicates that antidepressants and tanezumab may be ineffective for the reduction of prostatitis symptoms. Low‐quality evidence indicates that mepartricin and phosphodiesterase inhibitors may reduce prostatitis symptoms, without an increased incidence in adverse events.

Based on the findings of low‐ to very low‐quality evidence, this review found that some pharmacological interventions such as α‐blockers may reduce prostatitis symptoms with an increased incidence of minor adverse events such as dizziness and hypotension. Other interventions may cause a reduction in prostatitis symptoms without an increased incidence of adverse events while others were found to be ineffective.

Chronic prostatitis can cause pain and urinary symptoms, and can occur either with an active infection (chronic bacterial prostatitis [CBP]) or with only pain and no evidence of bacterial causation (chronic pelvic pain syndrome [CPPS]). Bacterial prostatitis is characterised by recurrent urinary tract infections or infection in the prostate with the same bacterial strain, which often results from urinary tract instrumentation. However, the cause and natural history of CPPS are unknown and not associated with active infection.

We conducted a systematic overview and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments for chronic bacterial prostatitis? What are the effects of treatments for chronic pelvic pain syndrome? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to February 2014 (Clinical Evidence overviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this overview).

At this update, searching of electronic databases retrieved 131 studies. After deduplication and removal of conference abstracts, 67 records were screened for inclusion in the overview. Appraisal of titles and abstracts led to the exclusion of 51 studies and the further review of 16 full publications. Of the 16 full articles evaluated, three systematic reviews and one RCT were included at this update. We performed a GRADE evaluation for 14 PICO combinations.

In this systematic overview, we categorised the efficacy for 12 interventions based on information relating to the effectiveness and safety of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors, allopurinol, alpha-blockers, local injections of antimicrobial drugs, mepartricin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), oral antimicrobial drugs, pentosan polysulfate, quercetin, sitz baths, transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT), and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).