The new National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus classification identifies chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) based on the presence or absence of leukocytes in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS), postprostatic massage urine (VB3), or seminal fluid analysis. The purpose of this review is to determine the effect of the new classification on the proportion of symptomatic patients diagnosed with inflammation. We compare and contrast the new consensus classification with the traditional classification of prostatitis syndromes, then review how these changes effect patient classification in our clinical practice. Thorough clinical and microbiologic examination of 140 patients attending the University of Washington Prostatitis Clinic included evaluation of first void urine, mid-stream urine, EPS, VB3, and semen specimens. Inflammation was documented in 111 (26%) of 420 samples including 39 EPS samples, 32 VB3 samples, and 40 SFA specimens. Of the 140 patients, 73 (52%) had inflammatory CP/CPPS according to the NIH consensus criteria, but only 39 (28%) had nonbacterial prostatitis according to traditional EPS criteria (P < 0.001). The new NIH consensus concept of inflammatory CP/CPPS includes almost twice as many patients as the traditional category of nonbacterial prostatitis.