Asymptomatic Inflammatory Prostatitis

Medically reviewed by Dr. Paul Song M.D

Article at a Glance

You may not come across information about asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis very often. As the name implies, this uncommon type of prostatitis involves inflammation of the prostate, but most men do not realize that they even have it because they do not experience any symptoms with it. Many men learn that they have it while undergoing further testing for other prostate diseases or fertility problems.

There seems to be a relationship between asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis and a man’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. At least one report says up to one-third of men who with an elevated PSA level have asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis. That is why many men learn that they have asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis after undergoing a prostate biopsy to rule out prostate cancer due to their elevated PSA level.

Do I Have Asymptomatic Inflammatory Prostatitis?

There are two typical signs of asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis. The first is when the prostate gland has the presence of white blood cells or pus cells that have found their way into the urine, and the second is an elevated PSA level.

Men with asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis can have bacteria in their semen, according to a 2006 study done in Estonia. The researchers in the study examined at the semen of 37 men with asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis and the semen of 32 men in a control group. They discovered that the men with asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis had semen that harbored abundant bacteria of up to eight different organisms. The bacteria count correlated with the white blood cell count.

Even though asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis patients may not have any signs of infection, their doctors often prescribe them antibiotics. If you are undergoing testing for infertility your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (like ibuprofen).

If your doctor has told you that you have this type of prostatitis, you’ll need to discuss any necessary treatment options. You may not need any treatment at all. If your PSA level is elevated due to asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis and you do end up taking antibiotics, you should expect your PSA levels to return to normal after about four to six weeks. If not, you should talk to your doctor and explore that issue further.