A 2004 study published in The Journal of Urology explored whether seminal vesiculitis should be considered a separate disease entity in men with acute epididymitis. The researchers focused on 13 patients clinically diagnosed with acute epididymitis and evaluated the seminal vesicles using imaging, cytology, and bacteriological analysis.
The study found that 12 of the 13 patients, or 92.3%, had dilation of the seminal vesicle on the same side as the epididymitis when examined by transrectal ultrasonography. By comparison, dilation on the opposite side was seen in only four patients. Fluid collected from the seminal vesicle on the affected side showed inflammatory findings in all patients studied.
Among patients age 40 and younger, Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in seminal vesicle fluid in seven of eight cases where first-void urine testing was also positive for the organism. Based on these findings, the authors concluded that inflammatory involvement of the seminal vesicles is clearly associated with acute epididymitis and that seminal vesiculitis may represent a discrete clinical entity rather than simply a secondary or incidental finding.
The paper is titled “Is seminal vesiculitis a discrete disease entity? Clinical and microbiological study of seminal vesiculitis in patients with acute epididymitis” and was published in April 2004.
