Idiopathic Urethritis in Childhood

Abstract

Introduction: Idiopathic urethritis (IU) in childhood is a rare disease with very few cases reported so far. Methods: During the past 3 years, the medical records of young boys diagnosed with and treated for IU in our department were retrieved and analyzed. Herein, their clinical course is presented, and a brief review of the literature is performed. Results: Five young male patients (mean age: 8.2 years) presented to the pediatric office with blood spotting of the underwear or urethral discharge, with or without dysuria. All the patients were treated in an outpatient basis and the corresponding clinical courses after a mean follow-up was 15.8 months were favorable. Conclusions: IU is a rare disease with a generally benign clinical course. Treatment must be tailored to symptomatic relief with avoidance of antibiotics. An aggressive diagnostic workup should be reserved to those with persistent symptoms or frequent recurrences.