Role of Chlamydia trachomatis in epididymitis. Part I: Direct and serologic diagnosis

The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of Chlamydia trachomatis (C.t.) in the etiopathogenesis of epididymitis. 39 patients with symptoms of acute epididymitis were examined. They were divided into two age groups: 1st--patients aged below 35 (24 patients) and 2nd--patients older than 35 yrs (15 patients). The patients' urethral swabs were examined and C.t., mycoplasma and other Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were searched for as well as leukocyte count was assessed. Anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies of IgG and IgM classes were assayed in serum. Direct immunofluorescence (antigen detection) and immunoenzymatic (antibodies detection) methods were used in C.t. infection diagnostics. C.t. infection in urethra was found in 30.8 percent of patients suffering from epididymitis, whereas in the control group in 2 percent. C.t. infection was significantly more commonly found in patients below 35 (45.8 percent) as compared with the older men (6.7 percent). The most common etiological factor in the younger group was C.t., while in the older group it was E. coli. IgG anti-C.t. antibodies were detected in the serum of 51.3 percent of the patients with acute epididymitis, as compared with 5.8 percent of the men in the control group. Specific IgG antibodies were found significantly more often in patients under 35 (66.7 percent) than in the older men (26.7 percent). Specific IgM antibodies were found in 15.4 percent of the patients, that is in 20.8 percent of the younger patients and in 6.7 percent of the older ones. C.t. is the main etiologic agent of epididymitis in men under 35.