NIH-CPSI (Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index)
The NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI; Litwin and colleagues, J Urol 1999).
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Question 1a
- 1
- Question 1b
- 1
- Question 1c
- 0
- Question 1d
- 1
- Question 2a
- 1
- Question 2b
- 0
- Question 3
- 3
- Question 4
- 6
- Question 5
- 2
- Question 6
- 3
The other 3 values
- Question 7
- 2
- Question 8
- 2
- Question 9
- 4
Result: NIH-CPSI 26 of 43.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Pain
- Items 1a-1d, 2a, 2b, 3, 4. Range 0-21.
- Urinary
- Items 5 and 6. Range 0-10.
- Quality of life
- Items 7, 8, 9. Range 0-12.
- Item ranges
- Heterogeneous: six 0-1, two 0-3, three 0-5, one 0-6, one 0-10. The pain rating is ~23% of the total.
- 0 to 14
- Mild. NOT from the original paper.
- 15 to 29
- Moderate. NOT from the original paper.
- 30 to 43
- Severe. NOT from the original paper.
- MGUPI
- A DIFFERENT instrument: pain 0-23, total 0-45. Never compare the two.
- Scope
- Symptoms only. Does not diagnose prostatitis or indicate antibiotics.
What you enter
- Question 1a (pain subscale).
- Question 1b (pain subscale).
- Question 1c (pain subscale).
- Question 1d (pain subscale).
- Question 2a (pain subscale).
- Question 2b (pain subscale).
- Question 3 (pain subscale).
- Question 4 (pain subscale).
- Question 5 (urinary subscale).
- Question 6 (urinary subscale).
The other 3 fields
- Question 1a (pain subscale). Pain or discomfort in the area between rectum and testicles (perineum), in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 1b (pain subscale). Pain or discomfort in the testicles, in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 1c (pain subscale). Pain or discomfort at the tip of the penis, not related to urination, in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 1d (pain subscale). Pain or discomfort below the waist, in the pubic or bladder area, in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 2a (pain subscale). Pain or burning during urination, in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 2b (pain subscale). Pain or discomfort during or after sexual climax (ejaculation), in the last week [0 = No; 1 = Yes]
- Question 3 (pain subscale). How often have you had pain or discomfort in any of these areas over the last week? [0 = Never; 1 = Rarely; 2 = Sometimes; 3 = Often; 4 = Usually; 5 = Always]
- Question 4 (pain subscale). Average pain or discomfort on the days that you had it, over the last week [0 = 0 (no pain); 1 = 1; 2 = 2; 3 = 3; 4 = 4; 5 = 5; 6 = 6; 7 = 7; 8 = 8; 9 = 9; 10 = 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine)]
- Question 5 (urinary subscale). How often have you had a sensation of not emptying your bladder completely after you finished urinating, over the last week? [0 = Not at all; 1 = Less than 1 time in 5; 2 = Less than half the time; 3 = About half the time; 4 = More than half the time; 5 = Almost always]
- Question 6 (urinary subscale). How often have you had to urinate again less than two hours after you finished urinating, over the last week? [0 = Not at all; 1 = Less than 1 time in 5; 2 = Less than half the time; 3 = About half the time; 4 = More than half the time; 5 = Almost always]
- Question 7 (qol subscale). How much have your symptoms kept you from doing the kinds of things you would usually do, over the last week? [0 = None; 1 = Only a little; 2 = Some; 3 = A lot]
- Question 8 (qol subscale). How much did you think about your symptoms, over the last week? [0 = None; 1 = Only a little; 2 = Some; 3 = A lot]
- Question 9 (qol subscale). If you were to spend the rest of your life with your symptoms just the way they have been during the last week, how would you feel about that? [0 = Delighted; 1 = Pleased; 2 = Mostly satisfied; 3 = Mixed (about equally satisfied and dissatisfied); 4 = Mostly dissatisfied; 5 = Unhappy; 6 = Terrible]
How this is calculated
- Structure
- 9 numbered questions but 13 scored items: Q1 has four sub-parts and Q2 has two. Both counts are right.
Litwin MS, McNaughton-Collins M, Fowler FJ Jr, et al. The National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis symptom index: development and validation of a new outcome measure. J Urol. 1999;162(2):369-375. Severity bands: Wagenlehner FME, et al. Eur Urol. 2013;63(5):953-959. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.