Extracorporeal shockwave therapy in treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: Systematic review and meta‐analyses

Abstract Aims Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) prevalence varies from 8.4% to 25% of the male population and is associated with diminished health‐related quality of life. Managing CP/CPPS remains challenging and there is not any common option to treat all patients effectively because of the complex disease nature. The currently available data for the extracorporeal shockwave therapy (eSWT) effect on pain relief and well‐being were analyzed in the present study. Methods We adhered to PRISMA 2022 guidelines for reporting the quantitative and qualitative data synthesis. A literature search was conducted in March 2023 using PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Randomized prospective studies of eSWT alone or eSWT plus conventional medicinal treatment were included. The risk of bias was estimated using the RoB 2.0. Primary outcomes were self‐reported scores, including the NIH‐CPSI questionnaire and VAS, at 1 month or 2, 3, and 6, months follow‐up. Results The CP/CPPS patients who receive eSWT have more pronounced pain relief and improvement of other subjective NIH‐CPSI scores compared with control groups that received placebo or medication therapy. The effect of eSWT seems to be long‐lasting and was confirmed in the 6‐month follow‐up ( p < 0.01). Conclusions Based on the meta‐analysis of accessible studies, we receive the equivalence eSWT applicability for the CP/CPPS treatment and can be offered to patients because of its noninvasiveness, high level of safety, and successful clinical results demonstrated in this analysis.