A clinico-etiological study of urethritis in men attending sexually transmitted disease clinic at a tertiary hospital

INTRODUCTION: Urethritis is an important sexually transmitted infection in the present day. Causative agents are many for urethritis, ranging from bacteria, virus, to protozoa. AIM: The aim was to study the various etiological agents and clinical presentation of men with urethritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care center in Bengaluru. After taking written informed consent, 100 men with symptoms of urethritis were enrolled in the study. Their demographic details, presenting symptoms, and examination findings were documented using a questionnaire and a pro forma. Results were tabulated and analyzed using mean. RESULTS: Nearly 68% had urethral discharge with dysuria as the presenting symptom. Nearly 27% had only dysuria without discharge as the main complaint. Almost 15% had coexistent genital ulcer disease. Human immunodeficiency virus infection was present in 10% in the population studied. The most prevalent organism isolated was Neisseria gonorrhoeae (45%). Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated in 13%. Trichomonas vaginalis was isolated in two patients. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the high prevalence of gonorrhea in India when nongonococcal urethritis is the forerunner in the Western world. In addition, T. vaginalis as a cause of urethritis has to be considered in our setup.