Chronic bacterial prostatitis: therapeutic experience with ciprofloxacin.

Ciprofloxacin was used for the treatment of refractory chronic bacterial prostatis. 17 men with symptoms of prostatitis for more than one year who had not responded to treatment courses of six weeks trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim alone received 500 mg ciprofloxacin twice daily per os for two weeks. Up to one year follow-up proved eradication of Escherichia coli in seven of ten and of other pathogens in two of five cases. In a second study, 16 patients with proven chronic bacterial prostatitis who had failed on pretreatment with co-trimoxazole, trimethoprim or norfloxacin, respectively, received 500 mg ciprofloxacin twice daily for four weeks. E. coli was the causative organism for all cases. After a median follow-up of 30 (21-36) months, ten out of 16 patients are clinically cured with permanent eradication of the causative organism. In two men a second treatment course with ciprofloxacin is considered successful. Two patients stopped treatment for central nervous system complaints.