Complications For Urethritis
Urethritis may usually be treated rapidly with medication. However, if left untreated, the effects can be long-term and even fatal. For example, the infection may spread to other regions of the urinary tract, such as the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. On their own, these infections can be painful. They can be treated with more intensive antibiotics, but if left untreated for too long, they might cause organ damage. If left untreated, it can spread to the bloodstream and cause sepsis, which can be fatal.
Some unusual complications have been linked to the most prevalent causes of urethritis, including those caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, such as penile edema, periurethral abscesses, and post-inflammatory urethral strictures, and penile lymphangitis. Infertility, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory illness, proctitis, Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome, and reactive arthritis are all conditions linked to Chlamydia trachomatis sequelae. (13)
Urethritis, uveitis, and arthritis are part of the full reactive arthritis triad, often known as Reiter syndrome. Acute epididymitis, orchitis, and prostatitis are symptoms of this rare disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis.
Some other urethritis complications involve Fournier’s gangrene, lymphogranuloma venereum, and infection of the paraurethral gland.
Certain serotypes of C. trachomatis usually cause lymphogranuloma venereum, often asymptomatic or accompanied by constitutional symptoms but can cause strictures and fistulae.
Fournier’s gangrene is caused by gram-negative rods, aerobic gram-positive cocci, and anaerobes and has a fatality rate of up to 45%.
The organism obtained in culture determines the type of infection in the urethral gland. Reactive arthritis (previously Reiter’s syndrome) includes urethritis as one of its components. Uveitis, arthritis, and, most typically, skin and mucous membrane diseases are the other components. Reactive arthritis occurs in 1-2 percent of instances of non-gonococcal urethritis.
Lastly, roughly 4% of patients have an oculogenital condition associated with non-gonococcal urethritis and conjunctivitis.
Complications in female
Infections of the bladder or cervix are common complications in women. It has been seen that 10-40% of female patients evolve PID (pelvic inflammatory disease), which is uncomfortable and can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, continuous pelvic pain, and pain during sex. Post-inflammatory scarring of the fallopian tubes is the most common cause of this. In less than 1% of female patients, reactive arthritis and disseminated gonococcal infections have been reported.
Furthermore, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that frequently cause urethritis might harm the reproductive system. Women who have untreated STIs are also more likely to have ectopic pregnancies, which can be critical.
The problem of neonatal disorders has been observed when a pregnant mother has urethritis. Premature delivery, neonatal pneumonia, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, low birth weight, and certain congenital abnormalities linked to pathogens such as T. pallidum and N. gonorrhea.
Complications in males
Men may experience painful prostate gland inflammation or infection, bladder infection, cystitis, orchitis, testicles, or scarring restriction of a segment of the urethra, resulting in painful urination. Morbidity is less common in males, with only 1-2 percent experiencing it. As a result of post-inflammatory scarring, this usually manifests as urethral stenosis or urethral strictures.