Tuberculous epididymitis following intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is widely used as an adjuvant therapy hi the treatment of superficial bladder cancer. BCG is administered as alive, attenuated form of Mycobacterium bovis, and acts as an immunomodulary agent to delay tumor progression. BCG is generally well tolerated, though localized and systemic infectious complications may occur. A literature search revealed that tuberculous epididymitis is a rarely reported complication of intravesical BCG therapy, We report the case of an 82-year-old male who developed tuberculous epididymitis while undergoing intravesical BCG treatment for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Right orchiectomy was performed, followed by rifampin and isoniazid therapy once M. bovis was identified as the infectious agent. The patient responded well to these treatments, and made a full recovery. Tuberculous epididymitis is an uncommon complication resulting from intravesical BCG therapy, which is likely explained by retrograde migration from the prostatic urethra in this case.