The puzzle of "urethral syndrome": a possible answer?

82 strains of slow-growing, CO2-dependent, gram-positive organisms have been isolated from the urine of 9 male and 73 female patients. 100% of the men and 93% of the women had urinary symptoms at the time of isolation, and 66% of the specimens showed pyuria. These organisms might account for the urinary symptoms of some patients previously diagnosed as having "urethral syndrome". Preliminary data show that, if appropriate antibacterial treatment is given, most of these patients become symptom-free, and the organism can no longer be isolated from the urine.