Prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in women with chronic urinary symptoms.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in women experiencing chronic urinary symptoms.

METHODS

Urine, vaginal, and urethral samples obtained from 153 women presenting with chronic voiding symptoms were tested for the presence of pathogens including U. urealyticum and M. hominis. Patients with positive cultures for Mycoplasma were treated with a single dose of 1 g azithromycin and followed up 1 month after therapy. Patients with persistent infection received 100 mg doxycycline orally, twice daily for 7 days, according to the results of the susceptibility test. The patients were asked to rate the severity of their symptoms at their initial visit and after treatment.

RESULTS

U. urealyticum was detected from > or =1 site in 81 women (52.9%), and M. hominis was detected in 5 patients (3.3%), always in association with U. urealyticum. At follow-up, 77 patients (95.1%) initially positive for Mycoplasma had negative cultures; the cultures of 4 (4.9%) remained positive for U. urealyticum and became negative after the second therapeutic regimen. A significant improvement in all symptoms was observed in women with positive cultures for Mycoplasma after therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

A high prevalence of U. urealyticum was observed in women with unexplained chronic voiding symptoms. Testing for the presence of U. urealyticum and M. hominis in the urogenital tract could prove valuable for the management of a significant percentage of chronic urinary symptoms in women through appropriate treatment.