Comparison of the Efficacy of a Terpene Mixture and Alpha-Blocker for Treatment of Category III Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Prospective Study

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a terpene mixture compared with alpha-blocker in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with CPPS were included in this study. The patients were randomly placed into three groups. Group 1 was treated with levofloxacin alone (36 patients), group 2 was treated with levofloxacin and alfuzosin (33 patients), and group 3 was treated with levofloxacin and terpene mixture (34 patients) for 8 weeks. The National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) was evaluated in patients in each group at the beginning of the study and after 8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Pain domain, urinary domain, quality of life domain, and total score on the NIH-CPSI were not significantly different at the initial visit. After treatment with each medication, improvements on the pain domain and total score of the NIH-CPSI were better in group 3 than in group 1 or group 2 (p<0.05). Improvement on the urinary domain of the NIH-CPSI was better in group 2 than in group 1 or group 3 (p=0.014). Changes in the quality of life domain of the NIH-CPSI were not significant among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the terpene mixture and alpha-blockers may have significant benefit for symptomatic relief, especially in the pain and urinary domains, respectively.