To establish diagnostic and treatment practices for chronic prostatitis (CP) by surveying Chinese urologists.

A sample of 656 Chinese urologists from 29 provinces was surveyed using a questionnaire that explored attitudes and diagnostic and treatment patterns in the management of CP.

A total of 627 (95.6%) urologists responded with valid questionnaires. More than one-third of the urologists were still not familiar with the National Institutes of Health's diagnostic categories. Only a minority of urologists perform specific lower urinary tract cultures. Although many Chinese urologists (64.6%) considered CP to be nonbacterial in nature, many (74.0%) still chose antibiotics as the first choice of therapy. Most urologists said they would prescribe antibiotics when bacterial culture was positive (64.4%), or when excessive leukocytes and/or pyocytes were present in expressed prostate secretions (65.9%). The second most commonly used pharmaceutical therapy was alpha-blockers (60.3%), which were prescribed by most urologists (70.3%) to relieve the obstructive voiding symptoms. The most commonly used nonpharmacologic therapies were psychotherapy (60.7%) and prostatic massage (54.2%). The beliefs regarding the cause affect the diagnostic and treatment strategies; meanwhile, the diagnostic practice has an influence on the selection of treatment methods.

As seen in other countries, there is much confusion and frustration experienced by the Chinese urologists in the management of CP. This reflects the inability to identify the cause of voiding symptoms in many of the patients with CP and has likely led to the varied therapies that are used. It is necessary to improve their cognitive level about CP and standardize their practice pattern constantly.