title: Brucellar epididymo-orchitis in southeastern part of Turkey: an 8 year experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  the different clinical and laboratory features and response to treatment of patients with acute brucellar epididymo-orchitis (BEO) reporting to the reference hospital in Southeastern Anatolia of Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  in this study, 27 male patients with brucellosis, who presented with epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis (EO) at the university hospital in Diyarbakir from 1998 to 2006, were included. They were compared with the other male patients. Positive blood culture or high agglutination titers of > 1/160 and positive clinical manifestations of brucellosis were the main criteria for diagnosing brucellosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  fourteen patients had unilateral EO. Leukocytosis was present in 10 patients; all of them had initial agglutination titers of > 1/160 and 10 patients had a positive blood culture. All patients received combined therapy with streptomycin for the first 21 days (or oral rifampicin for 6-8 weeks) with doxycycline or tetracycline for 6-8 weeks. All showed improvement, fever subsided in 3-7 days, and the scrotal enlargement and tenderness regressed. Only one patient had a relapse within one year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  in brucellosis-endemic areas, clinicians encountering EO should consider the likelihood of brucellosis. In this study, young age was the most common risk factor, and leukocytosis and high CRP level were the most common laboratory findings. Most cases were unilateral. All patients responded to medical management very well. Conservative management with combination antibiotic therapy was adequate for managing BEO. Conclusively, brucellosis must be considered as a cause of orchitis, especially in endemic regions like Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinic Microbiology, Medical School, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey, 21280.
authors.forename: Mustafa Kemal
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Celen
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ulug
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ayaz
authors.forename: Mehmet Faruk
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Geyik
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosoglu
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004823:Epididymitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009920:Orchitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents