Chlamydia, mycoplasmas, ureaplasmas, and yeasts in the lower genital tract of females. Comparison between a group attending a venereal disease clinic and a control group.

162 women were investigated. Group I consisted of 85 women, who were partners to men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) or presented macroscopic signs of cervicitis; patients who had harbored Neisseria gonorrhoeae were excluded from the study. Group II was a control group of 77 women without any complaints from the urogenital tract and with normal findings at pelvic examination. All the women were tested for infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Candida albicans. In group I, chlamydiae and mycoplasmas were recovered in 44% and 36%, respectively, the corresponding figures for the control group (group II) being 5% and 19%. The difference is highly significant. No such difference between the two groups was found for ureaplasmas. Sixteen percent of the patients in group I were positive for C. albicans; 12% were positive in group II. Fifty per cent of asymptomatic NGU-partners were chlamydia-positive, and about one-third of patients with either dysuria or vaginal discharge harbored the organism. No difference in the isolation frequency of mycoplasmas was observed between asymptomatic partners to male NGU carriers and women with increased vaginal discharge, whereas the organism was isolated more frequently from patients with dysuria. Fifty-nine per cent of patients with cervicitis were chlamydia-positive, compared with 30% of patients with normal cervical appearance and normal vaginal discharge. Samples obtained from the cervix were more often positive than samples from the urethra. In conclusion, if samples can be taken from only one of the two sites in patients with lower genital tract infection, the cervix is the optimal sampling site.