Microbiological survey of acute epididymitis.
In an 18 month period, 198 men presented with a painful, swollen, and tender epididymis or testicular or scrotal pain. Fifty were excluded from analysis because of prior antibiotic treatment or a history of the disease, or both. Of the remaining patients, epididymitis was not diagnosed in 108, though 23 (21%) of them had urethritis. Thus 40 men were seen who had acute unilateral epididymitis. Of the 27 less than 35 years old, 13 (48%) had a urethral chlamydial infection and two others a gonococcal infection. Sexually transmitted micro-organisms were not confined, however, to the younger age group, though only two (15%) of 13 men who were 35 years or older had a urethral chlamydial infection. Most, that is 29 (73%), of the patients with acute epididymitis also had urethritis when first seen. Urethral micro-organisms were found most often in 13 men who had severe epididymitis, chlamydial infection occurring in eight (62%) of the patients in this category.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004823:Epididymitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014526:Urethritis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology