Results of a questionnaire among Dutch urologists and general practitioners concerning diagnostics and treatment of patients with prostatitis syndromes

By means of a questionnaire, all Dutch urologists (n = 250, 136 responded) and regional general practitioners (GPs; n = 400, 176 responded) were contacted concerning current diagnostics and treatment modalities applied in patients with prostatitis syndromes. The patients seen by urologists seem to be younger (30-40 years) and they mostly complain of pain in the perineum, penis or scrotum, while GPs see older patients (> 40 years) mainly presenting with micturition complaints. Urologists think nonbacterial causes (40%) most important, while GPs mention bacterial infections (63%) as the most important cause. The first choice of therapy is antibiotics, mostly co-trimoxazole Sulfatrim for 3 weeks, but patients seen by urologists are more resistant to this therapy. If not successful, urologists frequently prescribe a second course with antibiotics. However, many urologists think psychosomatic causes are an important factor in the etiology of prostatitis