This may be brought on by the use of a urinary catheter during a medical procedure, or it may be caused by an enlargement of the patient's prostate, a congenital defect in his urinary tract or a recent bladder infection. Symptoms Acute bacterial prostatis is characterized by its rapid onset, chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area, body aches, burning or painful urination, increased urinary frequency and urgency, often at night, and occasionally visible blood in the urine. The first is a digital rectal exam, in which the doctor inserts a gloved finger into the patient's rectum to determine if the prostate is enlarged or has lumps or other areas of abnormal texture. In the second procedure, prostate massaging, the physician will vigorously rub the prostate to make the gland secrete prostatic fluid into the urethra for microscopic examination to see if bacteria are present. If no fluid is expressed, a urine specimen may be taken to examine the washout of the prostatic channel.
Examination is performed on the first few teaspoons of the urine specimen only.
APB is readily identifiable by the presence of white blood cells and bacteria in the urine and prostatic fluid. If the results of this procedure are unclear, a three-glass urine collection with prostate massage is performed. After this, the patient will almost empty his bladder by urinating into the toilet. These three samples are examined microscopically, and three separate cultures will be made from the samples. This process will determine if the patient's problem is an inflammation or an infection, and whether the problem is located in the urethra, bladder or prostate.