Short and long-term effectiveness of external shock wave therapy for chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men

Introduction: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a frequent urological diagnosis that affects men's quality of life. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a recent treatment option for patients with CPPS. We evaluated ESWT's short and long - term efficacy in managing CPPS.

Methods: This prospective self-controlled study included 75 patients diagnosed with CPPS at our tertiary pelvic pain clinic between January 2017-June 2019. Patients were referred for ESWT and received four sessions one week apart. The National Institute for Health - Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH - CPSI) questionnaire was used to assess patients' symptom severity before starting therapy and at 0, 12 and 26 weeks after completing ESWT. Demographics, clinical data and complications were also recorded.

Results: Patients' mean age was 37.9 ± 8.6 years, and mean duration of symptoms was 5 ± 4.5 years. Compared to pre-treatment scores, all patients exhibited improvements across all NIH - CPSI domains directly after completing ESWT (week 0 post-treatment), with a mean difference improvement of 9.26 ± 5.7, 5.2 ± 3.4, 1.19 ± 2.18 and 2.88 ± 2.46 points in the total, pain, urinary symptoms, and quality-of-life scores respectively. At 12 weeks after completing ESWT, 80.9% of patients reported improvements, with mean difference improvement of 8.07 ± 7.56, 4.55 ± 4.6, 0.76 ± 2.48, 2.85 ± 2.78 in the total, pain, urinary symptoms, and quality-of-life scores respectively. Again, none of the patients developed any treatment-related complications. At 26 weeks after completing ESWT, 82.4% of patients reported improvements, with mean difference improvement of 8.29 ± 7.7%, 4.92 ± 4.69, 0.75 ± 2.96, 2.5 ± 3.0 in total, pain, urinary symptoms, and quality-of-life scores respectively. None of the patients developed treatment-related complications.

Conclusions: ESWT is a safe and effective treatment modality for patients with CPPS, with short-term improvement in total, pain, urinary symptom, and quality-of-life scores; and long-term improvement in total, pain, and quality-of-life scores.