Prostatodynia or painful male urethral syndrome?

A prospective video-pressure-flow-EMG urodynamic evaluation in two groups of patients was undertaken to show possible differences in the prostatodynia versus nonprostatodynia group regarding their urodynamic characteristics. There was no statistically significant difference, and the main characteristic in both groups was the increased maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) recorded at the distal prostatic and membranous urethral segments. During voiding there was a distal urethral narrowing along with a proximal one seen in several patients and a synchronous decrease in urinary flow rate (peak and average flow) in the majority of patients. This functional urethral obstruction should be named "painful urethral syndrome" and not prostatodynia and may be only a step in a chain of events leading finally to chronic nonspecific prostatitis.