HAEMATOSPERMIA: CAUSES AND ASSOCIATED CHANGES IN SEMEN ANALYSIS IN NORTH OF IRAQ

Haematospermia is the medical term used to describe the presence of blood in semen. It can occur due to a variety of reasons and can be a benign or serious condition. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence and characterization of haematospermia in patients visiting hospital clinics. To do so, a total of 44 patients were recruited and characterized regarding their demographic variation, symptoms, severity, associated diseases, and measured prostate-specific-antigen (PSA). Results confirmed that patients were middle-aged (around 40 years) and the duration (days) of haematospermia is around 16±12. Only a few of these patients have shown an association with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes or other vascular diseases. Less than 50% of these patients have shown past-surgical history and few of them were using anticoagulants 16±12. The majority of patients had painless haematospermia while only (13.6%) had painful haematospermia, irritative urinary symptoms were found in (13.6%) while obstructive urinary symptoms in (4.5%). Ultrasound (US) examination of the abdomen, pelvis, and scrotum was normal in more than 50% of them while others have shown prostatic involvement. Few of these patients experienced pus on laboratory examination. To sum up, haematospermia is represented as an inconvenient disease in our sample leading to interference with daily quality of life, with no clear understanding aetiology of the disease and its progression.