Objective: To compare a new method "one-glass test" with the international gold standard "four-glass test" for the classification of chronic prostatitis (CP).
Methods: Totally, 360 CP patients were randomly assigned to receive "one-glass test" (n = 240) and "four-glass test" (n = 120) for the classification of the disease. Urine and expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) samples were collected from all the patients for microscopic and bacteriological examination and the results were subjected to statistical analysis, followed by comparison of the safety, procedures and costs of the two strategies.
Results: Compared with the "four-glass test", the urethal membrane "one-glass test" showed a significantly higher accuracy in the classification of types Ⅱ (8.6%), ⅢA (50.0%) and ⅢB prostatitis (41.4%) (P < 0.05), simpler procedures and lower costs, reducing RMB ¥412 (61.24%) per case.
Conclusions: The "one-glass test" has a high accuracy in the diagnosis and classification of chronic prostatitis and the advantages of simple operation and low cost, and therefore can be used in place of the "four-glass test" and widely promoted clinically.
Keywords: expressed prostatic secretion; four-glass test; one-glass test; urethal membrane; classification of prostatitis.