Yes! That’s because any urinary tract infection (UTI) in men has the potential for prostatic involvement¹ —-as high as 83% by one report. ²  

To make the matters more confusing, patients with acute bacterial prostatitis (ABP) often present with symptoms just like those of UTI,  such as urinary frequency, dysuria, malaise, fever, and myalgias. ³  In the elderly, atypical presentation is not uncommon (eg, confusion, incontinence, fall). ⁴  Under these circumstances, bacteriuria and pyuria may also be related to ABP and the prostate exam should be an important part of your evaluation.

Although the sensitivity of prostate tenderness on digital rectal exam varies widely for ABP (9%-100%), a painful exam should raise suspicion for ABP, and by itself may be an independent predictor for clinical and bacteriologic failure of therapy. ¹ Along with tenderness, fluctuance of prostate, particularly in the setting of voiding difficulties and longer duration of symptoms, may also suggest the presence of prostatic abscess. ^5,6 

But be gentle when performing a prostate exam and don’t massage it because you could potentially cause bacteremia and worsening of sepsis! ^1,7

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References

1. Etienne M, Chavanet P, Sibert L, et al. Acute bacterial prostatitis: heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria and management. Retrospective multicentric analysis of 371 patients diagnosed with acute prostatitis. BMC Infectious Diseases 2008;8:12. https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1471-2334-8-12?site=bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com
2. Ulleryd P, Zackrisson B, Aus G, et al. Prostatic involvement in men with febrile urinary tract infection as measured by serum prostate-specific antigen and transrectal ultrasonography. BJU Int 1999;84:470-4. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00164.x/pdf
3. Krieger JN, Nyberg L, Nickel JC. NIH consensus definition and classification. JAMA 1999;282:236-37. http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1030245
4. Harper M, Fowlis. Management of urinary tract infections in men. Trends in Urology Gynaecology & Sexual Health. January/February 2007. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tre.8/pdf
5. Lee DS, Choe HS, Kim HY, et al. Acute bacterial prostatitis and abscess formation. BMC Urology 2016;16:38. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4936164/
6. Oliveira P, Andrade JA, Porto HC, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of prostatic abscess. International Braz J Urol 2003;29: 30-34. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ibju/v29n1/v29n1a06.pdf
7. Lipsky BA, Byren I, Hoey CT. Treatment of bacterial prostatitis. Clin Infect Dis 2010; 50:1641-52. https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/50/12/1641/305217

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University, its affiliate academic healthcare centers, or its contributors. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!