MILD BALANOPOSTHITIS

Aim-To identify and study cases of mild balanoposthitis (MBP) with pen ile pathology among patients observed at a dermatology clinic over an 18-month period.Materials-The study included 321 patients with penile pathology. The term MBP was used to describe balanoposthitis of a loca lised, inflammatory nature with few, non-specific symptoms and a tende ncy to become chronic or recur. Two hundred and seventy had diseases c learly identifiable by clinical examination or laboratory tests; 51 ca ses were diagnosed as MBP and these patients had blood tests (to evalu ate immune status) and microbiological examination; when these proved negative, a series of patch tests was also used. Results-Of the 51 pat ients diagnosed as having MBP, the cause was ascertained in 34 cases ( infection, mechanical trauma, contact irritation, contact allergy, etc .), whereas no specific aetiological factor was detected to explain th e symptoms in the remaining 17 cases.