Chlamydial infection of the urethra in men.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from the urethra of 124 (52%) of 238 men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU). Repeat isolation attempts in 155 of these patients were successful in 8 men in whom results were negative on the initial visit, but they were unsuccessful in 8 men who initially had positive cultures. It must be assumed that with the present isolation techniques, at any single visit, at least 9% of chlamydial infections are missed. C. trachomatis was also found in 32 (23%) of 139 men with gonorrhea. Positive cultures were obtained from 15 (79%) of 19 men who later developed post-gonococcal urethritis (PGU). Thiamphenicol, used for the treatment of gonorrhea, was shown to have very little effect on C. trachomatis, which could still be recovered after treatment in 76% of the patients who initially had a combined infection. The typing of 35 genital isolates by micro-immunofluorescence confirms the previously reported distribution of chlamydial serotypes. In this study a social profile is given of the patients with urethritis and a comparison is made of the duration of symptoms and the nature of discharge in men with gonococcal, chlamydial and non-specific urethritis. A clear difference was shown in clinical symptoms in men with gonorrhea and NGU, taken as a whole, but only a slight difference between men with chlamydial and non-specific urethritis was seen.