Table.
GRADE evaluation of interventions for chronic prostatitis
| Important outcomes | Symptom improvement, cure rates, recurrence rates, quality of life, adverse effects | ||||||||
| Number of studies (participants) | Outcome | Comparison | Type of evidence | Quality | Consistency | Directness | Effect size | GRADE | Comment |
| What are the effects of treatments for chronic bacterial prostatitis? | |||||||||
| 2 (443) | Symptom improvement | Oral antimicrobial drugs v each other | 4 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 | Moderate | Directness point deducted for narrow range of comparators |
| 3 (532) | Cure rates | Oral antimicrobial drugs v each other | 4 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 | Moderate | Directness point deducted for narrow range of comparators |
| 1 (64) | Recurrence rates | Alpha-blockers plus antimicrobial drugs v antimicrobial drugs alone | 4 | –2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Low | Quality points deducted for sparse data and incomplete reporting of results |
| 1 (50) | Symptom improvement | Locally injected antimicrobial drugs v each other | 4 | –1 | 0 | –1 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data. Directness point deducted for restricted population |
| 1 (50) | Cure rates | Locally injected antimicrobial drugs v each other | 4 | –1 | 0 | –1 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data. Directness point deducted for restricted population |
| What are the effects of treatments for chronic abacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome? | |||||||||
| 7 (at least 294) . | Symptom improvement | Alpha-blockers v placebo | 4 | –2 | –1 | 0 | 0 | Very low | Quality points deducted for incomplete reporting of results and flaws with randomisation. Consistency point deducted for different results for different outcomes |
| 1 (86) | Quality of life | Alpha-blockers v placebo | 4 | –1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moderate | Quality point deducted for sparse data |
| 2 (105) | Symptom improvement | 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors v placebo | 4 | –2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data and incomplete reporting of results |
| 1 (54) | Symptom improvement | Allopurinol v placebo | 4 | –3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Very low | Quality points deducted for sparse data, poor follow-up, and incomplete definition of reported outcome |
| 1 (26) | Symptom improvement | Mepartricin v placebo | 4 | –1 | –1 | 0 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data. Consistency point deducted for different results for different outcomes |
| 1 (26) | Quality of life | Mepartricin v placebo | 4 | –1 | –1 | 0 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data. Consistency point deducted for different results for different outcomes |
| 2 (124) | Symptom improvement | Pentosan polysulfate v placebo | 4 | –3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Very low | Quality points deducted for sparse data, no intention-to-treat analysis, and for subjective assessment of outcome |
| 1 (100) | Quality of life | Pentosan polysulfate v placebo | 4 | –1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moderate | Quality point deducted for sparse data |
| 1 (33) | Symptom improvement | Quercetin v placebo | 4 | –2 | –1 | 0 | 0 | Very low | Quality points deducted for sparse data, and incomplete reporting of results. Consistency point deducted for different results for different outcomes |
| 1 (20) | Symptom improvement | Transurethral microwave thermotherapy v sham treatment | 4 | –3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Very low | Quality points deducted for sparse data, incomplete reporting of results, and for subjective outcome measurement |
| 1 (20) | Quality of life | Transurethral microwave thermotherapy v sham treatment | 4 | –2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Low | Quality point deducted for sparse data, and incomplete reporting of results |
| 2 (276) | Symptom improvement | Oral antimicrobial drugs v placebo | 4 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 0 | Low | Directness points deducted for too few comparators and for uncertainty about generalisability of results |
| 1 (81) | Symptom improvement | Prostatic massage plus antimicrobial drugs v antimicrobial drugs alone | 4 | –1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moderate | Quality point deducted for sparse data |
Type of evidence: 4 = RCT; 2 = Observational; 1 = Non-analytical/expert opinion. Consistency: similarity of results across studies Directness: generalisability of population or outcomes Effect size: based on relative risk or odds ratio