Urethritis

Urethritis
Classification and external resources
Specialty	urology
ICD-10	N34
ICD-9-CM	597 099.4
DiseasesDB	27902
MedlinePlus	000439
eMedicine	med/2342
MeSH	D014526
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Urethritis is inflammation of the urethra. The most common symptom is painful or difficult urination. It is usually caused by infection with bacteria. The infection is often a sexually transmitted infection (STI), but some are just non-STI urinary tract infections. Urethritis can be idiopathic, but it usually is not.

The disease is classified as either gonococcal urethritis, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU), most commonly caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. NGU, sometimes called nonspecific urethritis (NSU), has both infectious and noninfectious causes.

Other causes include:

In female patients, urethritis can be caused by pelvic inflammatory disease. With male patients, the physician examines the penis and testicles for soreness or any swelling. The urethra is visually examined by spreading the urinary meatus apart with two gloved fingers, and examining the opening for redness, discharge and other abnormalities. Next, a cotton swab is inserted 1-4 cm into the urethra and rotated once. To prevent contamination, no lubricant is applied to the swab, which can result in pain or discomfort. The swab is then smeared onto a glass slide and examined under a microscope. A commonly used cut-off for the diagnosis of urethritis is 5 or more granulocytes per High Power Field, but this definition has recently been called into doubt. The physician sometimes performs a digital rectal examination to inspect the prostate gland for swelling or infection.

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