Chlamydia trachomatis in acute epididymitis

The etiology of acute epididymitis was studied in 52 patients. Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis was demonstrated by culture or serology in 13 patients. In men under the age of 25 C. trachomatis was associated with 7 out of 9 cases of epididymitis, in contrast to none of the 19 cases in men above 35. Culture from the urethra is probably sufficient in diagnosing infection with C. trachomatis in patients with acute epididymitis, since only one patient with a negative urethral culture had a chlamydia-positive aspirate from the epididymis. Half of the cases of epididymitis in men above the age of 35 years were associated with urinary tract infection. One patient was infected with N. gonorrhoeae and one had tuberculosis of the epididymis.