A clinicopathological study of urethritis in males

To determine the etiology and frequency of different types of urethritis in adult males.

A case series.

The Dermatology Department of PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from June 2004 to December 2007.

One hundred male patients having complaints of urethral discharge and dysuria reporting in the skin OPD were included in the study. Patients who had received systemic treatment for their complaints and those who had other systemic infections were excluded. A detailed history including history of sexual contact was taken. Dermatological examination including examination of external genitalia was also performed. All these patients were subjected to complete physical examination, complete urine examination, urethral pus for gram staining and culture, endo-urethral swab with urethral loop for seeing Chlamydia antigen by fluorescent microscopy, cultures for ureaplasma and Wet mount specimen microscopy for trichomonas along with HIV (serum ELISA) test. Non-gonococcal urethritis was diagnosed on the presence of more than five polymorphonuclear leucocytes per high power field in at least five fields of Gram stained urethral smear, in the absence of Gram negative diplococci.

The mean age was 29.2 + or - 5.8 years. Seventy (70%) cases were diagnosed as gonococcal urethritis and 30 (30%) cases as non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU). History of illicit sexual exposure was available in 25 (25%) patients. The interval period between initiation of symptoms and reporting of patient in gonococcal urethritis was 4 to 30 days (mean 12.8 days) and 4 days to 2 months (mean 20.7 days) in non-gonococcal urethritis. The patients with gonococcal urethritis presented with purulent discharge in 66 (84%) cases, and dysuria in 49 (70%) cases. In the NGU group, 25 (80%) cases had mucoid discharge and 18 (65%) had dysuria. in 70%, Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated, Chlamydia trachomatis in 16%, ureaplasma in 8%, and Trichomonas vaginalis in 4%. No organism could be detected in 2% cases. HIV test was negative in all cases.

Gonococcal urethritis was the commonest urethritis seen followed by Chlamydia infection in the studied group of adult males.