Disorders of micturition in bacterial prostatitis.

Measurements of urinary flow rate were performed in 16 patients with established prostatitis before and after a course of antimicrobial therapy. Before treatment the maximum flow rates were poor with abnormal flow curves and significant improvement in voiding characteristics were observed with treatment (P less than 0.01). A preliminary electrophysiological (EMG) study of sphincter activity suggested that the obstruction to the flow of urine was at least in part due to failure of the external sphincter to relax during micturition. Although the total number of cases in this series was small the study showed that prostatitis was associated with a disorder of micturition which correlated with the other clinical features of the disease and could be objectively evaluated. Eradication of infection restored normal conditions in the lower urinary tract.