CC: 1 week of bloody, purulent urethral meatus discharge
ID: 32 yo Filipino male with history of prior sexual assault with subsequent recurrent UTIs, and newly diagnosed urethral stricture s/p suprapubic catheter placement presents with 1 week of bloody, purulent discharge from his urethral meatus. On exam, he was noted to have milky, bloody discharge from his meatus and fluctuant paratesticular masses in bilateral scrotum and base of the penis. Scrotal ultrasound revealed abscesses within bilateral scrotum and penis. He was taken to the OR for surgical exploration and abscess drainage. Pathology specimen was remarkable for caseating granulomatous inflammation with positive AFB stains in the peritesticular abscess fluid. Patient was ultimately diagnosed with genitourinary tuberculosis.
Pearls from morning report:
- The differential for sterile pyuria is broad and includes TB, fungal organisms, urinary stone, interstitial cystitis, prostatitis, STIs and PID.
- When evaluating acute scrotal pain, consider Prehn’s sign. A positive Prehn’s sign (alleviation of pain with scrotal elevation) indicates epididymitis, not testicular torsion.
Random trivia:
LAC+USC is proud to diagnose and treat 1% of all tuberculosis cases nationwide. The earliest evidence of TB in men and animals was discovered in the form of fossils – spinal TB – dating back to 8000 BC.
Want to read more?
Genitourinary TB: historical and basic science review (Central European Journal of Urology)
Sterile Pyuria (New England Journal of Medicine)
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