Prostatitis

Textbook of Prostatitis J. CURTIS NICKEL, MD, FSRCSC. ISIS MEDICAL MEDIA, OXFORD, ENGLAND, 1999, 386 PAGES. ISBN 1-90186-504-5. $149.

As the population of the United States continues to age, the need to further assess and comprehend patients' chronic disease processes may become tantamount to good care. The Textbook of Prostatitis provides a very lengthy and detailed collection of knowledge concerning the evaluation and understanding of the different facets of prostatitis. Through better comprehension, physicians may be better able to properly treat the different aspects of this perplexing illness. The complexity and detail of this textbook allow the reader to fully understand these principles.

The initial chapters of the book discuss the historical aspects of prostatitis as a whole and include the often frustrating evaluation of this disease entity. There is an essay from a patient who has suffered from chronic prostatitis. That essay enhances the value of the book, allowing the family physician to better understand and appreciate what some patients will do to understand and treat their prostatitis. The use of a patient-centered essay reinforces the need for improved physician-patient interaction and cooperation in the treatment of this multifaceted and sometimes chronic illness.

The subsequent sections delve further into the different aspects of prostatitis. Each chapter and section is well thought out and very detailed. The text uses the relatively new National Institutes of Health classification system of chronic prostatitis that clarifies delineations of the different types of prostatitis and methods of treatment.

The section on evaluation of the patient is also very detailed and includes useful tables for scoring prostatitis symptoms, again focusing on the patient's input for the evaluation and treatment of his specific disease process. Included in this section is a chapter on prostate-specific antigen use in prostatitis. This is particularly useful to the primary care physician, since this is a question often asked by patients when informed of the diagnosis of prostatitis. The section discussing the epidemiology of prostatitis is interesting to read but of limited practical value to the practicing physician. For the novice physician it outlines the variety of conditions that are all called prostatitis and are present in men of every region and every ethnic group.

Treatment protocols based on the pathophysiology of the prostate are included in treatment section. The modalities discussed include [Beta] blocker therapy for prostatodynia, a confusing and frustrating malady for both the patient and the physician.

This is a and exacting textbook, more suited to researchers or urologists than family physicians. It might serve as a reference text in the library of group practice, but is not tailored to a search for the rapid answers needed during a day of patient visits. For the family practice resident or medical student needing a reference book on prostate disease, the author's inclusion of the patient's perspective makes this a better source of information than many urology textbooks.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Appleton & Lange
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group