Journal of Contemporary Medicine (Jul 2022)
FREQUENCY OF ASYMPTOMATIC HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, SYPHILIS, HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C IN CIRCUMCISED MALE PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH URETHRITIS
Abstract
Aim: In this study, it was aimed to determine the frequency of asymptomatic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and syphilis in circumcised patients diagnosed with urethritis transmitted by sexual intercourse because of unprotected sexual contact. Material and Methods: We retrospectively investigated the serological results of HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Syphilis diseases in 364 male patients diagnosed with urethritis, all of them were circumcised during childhood. The study included patients who applied to the urology outpatient clinic of secondary state hospital between January 2017 and December 2019 with symptoms or signs of urethritis. In the examination, only urethral discharge could be seen without symptoms. After the patients were examined, first void urine samples were taken. Also at the first examination, peripheral blood samples were tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and syphilis antibodies. Results: As a result of retrospective screening of the serological results of 364 male patients diagnosed with urethritis, Hepatitis B positivity was 1.09% with 4 cases, Hepatitis C positivity was found as 0.27% in 1 case and the Syphilis positivity rate was 1.92% with 7 cases in 364 patients. None of the patients had HIV positivity. Conclusions: The fact that there was not any encounter of HIV-positive patients in patients diagnosed with urethritis because of unprotected sexual contact led to the thought that circumcision had a protective contribution in these patients with urethritis, who were all circumcised. Also, screening tests, especially syphilis, should be performed on all patients diagnosed with STI infection.
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