Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in association with bromelain and escin for the management of patients affected by chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Palmieri,Alessandro; Cai,Tommaso; Di Luise,Luigi; D'Alterio,Carlo; La Cava,Gregorio; Cirigliano,Lorenzo; Di Giovanni,Angelo; Gallelli,Luca; Capece,Marco

doi:10.3892/br.2022.1589

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in association with bromelain and escin for the management of patients affected by chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Authors:
- Alessandro Palmieri
- Tommaso Cai
- Luigi Di Luise
- Carlo D'Alterio
- Gregorio La Cava
- Lorenzo Cirigliano
- Angelo Di Giovanni
- Luca Gallelli
- Marco Capece
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Affiliations: Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences, Odontostomatology‑Urology Unit, University of Naples ‘Federico II’, I-80100 Naples, Italy, Department of Urology, Santa Chiara Regional Hospital, I-38123 Trento, Italy, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences, Odontostomatology‑Urology Unit, University of Naples ‘Federico II’, I-80100 Naples, Italy, Department of Urology, A.s.p. Crotone, I-88900 Crotone, Italy, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacovigilance Unit, Mater Domini Hospital, I-88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Published online on: November 25, 2022 https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2022.1589
Article Number: 7
Copyright: © Palmieri et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has been purposed for the management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) with encouraging results. Phytotherapeutic compounds have been used in everyday clinical practice for patients with CP/CPSS due to their anti‑inflammatory properties. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of ESWT in association with the use of bromelain and escin extracts in patients with CP/CPSS. For this purpose, 95 patients with a clinical diagnosis of CP/CPSS were enrolled in the study. The patients were randomly allocated to either the ESWT plus bromelain and escin group (group A; n=48) or the ESWT only group (group B; n=47). A total of five weekly ESWT treatment sessions were administered alone or in combination with bromelain and escin. Each session consisted of 3,000 focused shock waves. Doses of 160 and 500 mg/day bromelain and escin were administered respectively for 5 weeks. The changes in urinary symptoms, pain and quality of life were considered the main outcome measures and were assessed at baseline, and at 4, 12 and 24 weeks of follow‑up. Urinary symptoms, pain and quality of life were evaluated using the international prostatic symptoms score (IPSS), visual analog scale (VAS) and the National Institutes of Health‑Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH‑CPSI). After 4 weeks, the mean VAS score, mean IPSS and mean satisfaction rate score had significantly improved in patients receiving ESWT plus bromelain and escin. After 12 weeks, the mean IPSS and mean satisfaction rate score were stable in the ESWT plus bromelain and escin group, while the mean VAS score was significantly lower when compared with the baseline values in both groups. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that in patients affected by CP/CPPS, treatment with ESWT plus bromelain and escin leads to pain resolution, and both treatments improve the IPSS, VAS and NIH‑CPSI results.

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