nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) /-gon′əkok″əl/ [L, non + Gk, gone, seed, kokkos, berry] , an infectious condition of the urethra in males that is characterized by mild dysuria and a small to moderate amount of penile discharge. The discharge may be white or clear, thin or mucoid, or, less often, purulent. The infection is often caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydia trachomatis. Untreated NGU may result in urethral stricture, epididymitis, proctitis, and chronic inflammation of the urethra. Women exposed to the exudate during coitus may develop a hypertrophic erosion of the cervix and purulent cervical mucus. An infant passing through the cervix and vagina of a mother infected with C. trachomatis may develop conjunctivitis and nasopharyngeal infection in the first few days after birth and pneumonia at 3 to 4 months. Diagnosis of NGU is made by excluding gonococcal urethritis through microscopic examination and bacteriological culture of the exudate. Nearly 50% of all cases of urethritis are nongonococcal. Most cases of NGU are successfully treated with tetracycline or erythromycin. Sexual contacts are treated whether or not they are symptomatic.
