What are the differences between older and younger patients with epididymitis?

PURPOSE: According to the aging of society and the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains, it is worth considering the different aspects of epididymitis (EP) in older and younger patients, even though the etiology and therapeutic strategies of this disease are considered to be established. Thus, we investigated how age affects EP-related symptoms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were gathered from 7 hospitals in Hyogo, Japan, and the correlations of age (older or younger) with urine findings such as pyuria or bacteriuria and EP-related symptoms such as fever were investigated.

RESULTS: In all 308 cases with full data for evaluation, there were 66 febrile (38℃ or higher) cases (21.4%) and bacteriuria was seen in 158 cases (51.3%). In the multivariate analysis, older age (65 years or older) was significantly correlated with the presence of pyuria (p=0.0156). Regarding the relationship between urine findings and EP-related symptoms, pyuria was significantly related to fever (37℃ or higher; p=0.0159).

CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that older patients with EP had pyuria significantly more often than did younger patients, which correlated with EP-related symptoms (fever). These data suggest that age-specific guidelines may be necessary.