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Cryotherapy alleviates symptoms in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: The first results
Author(s) -
Peng Xufeng,
Gao Hui,
Wang Jihong
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
andrologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1439-0272
pISSN - 0303-4569
DOI - 10.1111/and.13920
Subject(s) - cryotherapy , medicine , prostatitis , chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome , visual analogue scale , pelvic pain , quality of life (healthcare) , international prostate symptom score , prostate , urology , lower urinary tract symptoms , surgery , cancer , nursing
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is an intractable disease. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of cryotherapy in the therapy of CP/CPPS. One hundred and seventy‐two patients with CP/CPPS were randomised to receive cryotherapy or sham cryotherapy. The follow‐up assessments were done at weeks 4, 12 and 24 using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and National Institutes of Health‐developed Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. The per‐protocol analysis was performed. Eighty‐two patients in the cryotherapy group and 76 patients in the sham group completed the treatment. The most obvious improvement (67%) of the VAS was observed in the cryotherapy group after 4 weeks, and although the improvement slightly weakened by 24 weeks (62.6%), a significant improvement from the treatment remained apparent. IPSS improved by 75% after 4 weeks and remained stable after 24 weeks. The response rates were 78.0%, 73.2% and 70.1% at weeks 4, 12 and 24 in the cryotherapy group, which were higher than 17.1%, 13.2% and 10.5% in the sham group (each p < .001). These results indicated that cryotherapy could alleviate voiding symptoms, ameliorate pain and improve the quality of life in people with CP/CPPS. It holds promise as a novel strategy to treat CP/CPPS.