The diagnosis of prostatitis at this time is a very simple procedure for a doctor. Apart from rare atypical forms of the disease, acute prostatitis is relatively easy to diagnose.
During the treatment of the disease, the patient should undergo a series of laboratory and instrumental examinations. Patients are often interested in why they should have a general PSA blood test for prostatitis. Not everyone understands the role of this marker in diagnosing the underlying disease.
What is PSA?
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a special glycoprotein that is produced exclusively in prostate cells. Its main role is to liquefy sperm and activate sperm during ejaculation.
This protein can be found in the blood, and as it is produced only in the prostate, it partially shows its function and all types of lesions.
It is widely used in the diagnosis of diseases such as:
- Chronic prostatitis;
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia - prostate adenoma;
- Malignant neoplasms of the male organ - prostate cancer.
A general blood test for PSA in chronic prostatitis can show disease progression and a dangerous complication of the disease that is manifested by degeneration of damaged cells into atypical ones with the development of prostate cancer.
Prostate specific antigen is a tumor marker that may indicate the presence of a tumor at an early stage of its development.
Normal indicators
Since protein is synthesized in the tissues of the male gland, the presence of a small amount in the blood is the norm. The screening threshold for normal tumor marker activity is up to 4 ng / ml in the blood.
The amount of protein directly depends on the following factors:
- Age of man. There is some correlation between patient age and glandular marker production activity;
- Regularity of sexual intercourse;
- The presence of an inflammatory process in the prostate;
- Physical trauma and organ damage;
- Delayed surgical interventions or specific diagnostic procedures (prostate massage, digital rectal examination);
- Taking medication.
All these aspects can affect the number of antigens in the bloodstream, and sometimes even confuse doctors. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to properly pass the PSA blood test for general prostatitis in men, in order for further therapy to be successful.
Preparation of PSA
Before a man donates blood to detect prostate-specific antigen, several important points must be adhered to that prevent misinterpretation of the final result.
To avoid laboratory errors, the patient should consider the following characteristics:
- You must not eat for 8 hours before taking blood. You can drink tea, juice or water.
- Avoid cycling, stationary or long-distance hiking (>5 km) 24 hours before the start of the study.
- 1 week before the test it is necessary to refrain from sexual intercourse and masturbation, taking spicy and smoked foods.
- If the patient has undergone transrectal ultrasound of the prostate (TRUS), digital examination of the rectum, colonoscopy or catheterization of the bladder, it is necessary to wait at least 7 days before determining the PSA in the blood.
- After a prostate biopsy or prostate massage, it is necessary to wait for 2 weeks.
Only if all these rules are followed can it be said that a PSA blood test for general prostatitis will be really reliable.
Decoding and goals of PSA tests
The main purpose of this examination is the ability to control the course of the chronic form of the disease and quickly spot problems if malignancy (tumor formation) occurs.
In diseases such as acute, chronic, bacterial, congestive prostatitis, PSA levels may rise slightly to 5 ng / ml. This is not yet a reason to panic. If after the implementation of adequate drug therapy the indicator does not normalize, then this is considered an absolute indication for organ puncture with subsequent histological examination.
Normally, the larger the prostate volume, the more cells are able to produce glycoproteins. It has been clinically proven that 1 gram of organ parenchyma in benign hyperplasia additionally synthesizes 0. 35 ng / ml of antigen. The same indicator for cancer is 3. 5 ng / ml.
This relationship allows doctors with a high degree of reliability to assess the possibility of developing malignant neoplasms in chronic prostatitis. According to statistics, 83% of cancer patients at the same time suffered from long-term inflammation in the male gland. This allows us to consider this pathology as a predictor of cancer.
Conclusion
Blood test for PSA in prostatitis is part of the mandatory examination of urological patients. Its significance can hardly be overestimated, because it can reliably indicate the formation of an atypical cell structure, which leads to the development of malignant neoplasms.