Influence of preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration on perioperative complications in patients treated with epididymectomy for epididymal tuberculosis

Objectives We aimed to investigate the influence of preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration on perioperative epididymectomy complications in patients with epididymal tuberculosis (ETB). Methods This retrospective study examined patients with ETB between January 1, 2013, and March 31, 2023, who underwent unilateral epididymectomy at our hospital. We selected preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration of 2, 4, and 8 weeks as the cutoffs for this study, to explore whether there are differences in the incidence of intraoperative and 30‐day postoperative complications among the patients with different preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy durations. Intraoperative complications were graded according to the Satava classification, and 30‐day postoperative complications were defined according to the Clavien–Dindo classification. The study groups were compared using the unpaired t‐test, Wilcoxon rank‐sum test, Pearson's chi‐square test, or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Results Overall, 155 patients were included. Statistical analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the incidence of intraoperative and 30‐day postoperative complications between patients with shorter preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration and those with longer preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration. Conclusions In patients with ETB, preoperative antituberculosis chemotherapy duration did not significantly affect the incidence of perioperative complications after epididymectomy.