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Six Mycoplasma
species could be detected in urethral, rectal, or throat specimens
from men with and without urethritis.
Detection of several
mycoplasma species at various anatomical sites of homosexual men.
Taylor-Robinson D, Gilroy CB, Keane FE.
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
2003;22:291-293
Summary:
Question
What is the occurrence of six Mycoplasma species in urethra,
throat, and rectal samples obtained from men who have sex with men?
Design
Urethral, throat, rectal, and urine specimens collected from 28 men who
have sex with men were analyzed for the presence of N. gonorrhoeae, C.
trachomatis, M. hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, M. genitalium, M.
fermentans, M. penetrans, and M pirum.
Participants
Twenty-eight men who have sex with men attending the Genitourinary
Medicine clinic at a hospital in London were tested. Ten of the 28 men
were diagnosed with acute nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). The HIV status
of the men was not determined.
Description of Tests and Diagnostic
Standard
A urethral sample obtained using a plastic loop was used to make a Gram
stain for detection of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) and
gram-negative diplococci and to inoculate a culture for N. gonorrhoeae.
A urethral swab was used to make a slide for detection of C.
trachomatis using fluorescent antibodies (FA) (MicroTrak, Dade-Behring,
UK). Three rectal and three throat swabs were obtained for 1) C.
trachomatis FA and N. gonorrhoeae culture, 2) M. hominis
and U. urealyticum cultures, and 3) M. genitalium, M.
fermentans, M. penetrans, and M pirum PCRs. First void
urine samples were collected and the sediment was used for a Gram stain,
C. trachomatis FA, and Mycoplasma cultures and PCRs. All four Mycoplasma
PCR assays were able to detect as few as 10 organisms per PCR.
NGU was diagnosed if the urethral
specimens were negative for gram-negative diplococci on Gram stain and N.
gonorrhoeae on culture and if 5 or more, or 10 or more, PMNLs were
observed per high-powered microscopic field in a Gram-stained urethral
smear or urine sediment, respectively.
Main Outcome Measures
The detection of C. trachomatis and six Mycoplasma species
at three mucosal sites was reported.
Main Results
N. gonorrhoeae was not detected by Gram stain or culture from any
sample. C. trachomatis was detected in the urethral specimen of one
man and the rectal specimens of two others with NGU and in the throat of
one man without NGU. Detection of the six Mycoplasma species by patient
diagnosis and specimen site is shown in the table.
Authors' Conclusions
M. genitalium was detected in the
rectum of both NGU-positive and NGU-negative men and in the urethra of one
man with Chlamydia negative NGU, but not in those without urethritis.
Source of funding: None given.
For correspondence: David
Taylor-Robinson, division of Medicine, Imperial College School of
Medicine, St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, W2 1NY, UK. E-mail
address: dtr@vache99.freeserve.co.uk.
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