O 14. Isolated tuberculous epididymitis in Northwestern China population: A review of 68 cases

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of isolated tuberculous epididymitis and to profile its diagnosis and treatment in this group of patients.

Methods: A retrospective case study of the hospital records of patients with epididymal tuberculosis managed at the first affiliated Hospital of Xi'an jiaotong university, school of medicine in Xi'an, Northwest of China during the period of 2001-2011.

Results: 68 were found to have isolated tuberculous epididymitis. The mean age was 34.5 years. The main presentation was incident induration an insidious onset of painful scrotal swelling, mostly on the left side. Mean duration of symptoms was 10.6 weeks. Most patients had no history of previous tuberculosis and no Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in their urine. Six months of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy was effective, combined with surgery for scrotal abscesses. Although all patients recovered, the results on fertility are considerable.

Conclusions: Isolated tuberculous epididymitis is the most common form of genitourinary tuberculosis. The treatment of choice is primarily medical, consisting of a combination of three or four anti-TB drugs, sometimes combined with surgery for large scrotal abscesses. The fertility outcome is of concern. Sperm retrieval and cryopreservation have to be considered for potential intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection.