Comparison of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation versus percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation in category IIIB chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A randomized prospective trial

Abstract

Background: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a heterogenous condition that impacts the Quality of life severely, and it has multimodal complex treatment options. We aimed to compare the efficacy of two well-described neuromodulation therapies, transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) versus percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in the treatment of category IIIB CP/CPPS. Methods: This study was designed as a randomized prospective clinical trial. We randomized category IIIB CP/CPPS patients into two treatment groups as TTNS and PTNS groups. Category IIIB CP/CPPS was diagnosed by two or four-glass Meares-Stamey test. All patients included in our study were antibiotic/anti-inflammatory resistant. Transcutaneous and percutaneous treatments were applied 30 min sessions for 12 weeks. Patients were evaluated by Turkish-validated National Health Institute Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) initially and after treatment. Treatment success was evaluated within each group and also compared with each other.Results: A total of 38 patients in the TTNS group and 42 patients in the PTNS group were included in the final analysis. The mean VAS scores of the TTNS group were lower than the PTNS group initially (7.11 and 7.43, respectively), (p = 0.03). The pretreatment NIH-CPSI scores were similar between groups (p = 0.

The Role of Autonomic Nervous System in Pain Chronicity

“…Percutaneous tibial (somatic peripheral nerve) nerve stimulation (PTNS), which is used to improve urinary bladder control in Overactive Bladder, is an effective and minimally invasive technique [104]. It requires multiple sessions to achieve prolonged effect.…”

Re: Comparison of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation versus percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation in category IIIB chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A randomized prospective trial

“…To the editor, We read and appreciated the recent article from Mehmet et al which proposed that both percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) and transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) were effective treatments for type non-inflammatory chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS/IIIB) chronic prostatitis while PTNS was more effective than TTNS in decreasing symptoms and pain scores. 1 However, we would like to highlight some issues to better interpret the results.…”