HPV, Chlamydia trachomatis and genital mycoplasmas infections in women with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL)

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to determine the correlation between Chlamydia trachomatis, urogenital mycoplasmas and Low Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LSIL) in women with and without Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The specimens were tested for: carcinogenic HPV by the Hybrid Capture I Assay, Chlamydia trachomatis antigen by direct immunofluorescence, urogenital mycoplasmas by Mycoplasma IS test. Cytological smears were classified according to the Bethesda system. RESULTS: High-oncogenic HPV types, Chlamydia trachomatis and mixed infections with Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in patients with LSIL occur significantly more frequently comparing to women without dysplasia. Statistically significant correlation between C. trachomatis and presence of HPV was determined. In HPV negative women there was no correlation between C. trachomatis and LSIL. CONCLUSION: In women infected with HPV, especially high-oncogenic types, C. trachomatis test should be included in diagnostic-therapeutic routine scheme.     

Spontaneous abortion--an infectious aetiology?

The role of Chlamydia trachomatis, genital mycoplasmas, Campylobacter spp. and other aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in the aetiology of spontaneous abortion was investigated prospectively in 241 pregnant women at a community hospital. Sixteen women who had threatened abortions were a little younger, of lower social class and had had more previous spontaneous abortions than the 76 women who aborted or the 149 women whose pregnancies were not complicated in the early stages by haemorrhage. The demographic characteristics of the latter two groups of women were similar. C. trachomatis was isolated from the cervix of only one woman and she had no genital-tract bleeding at any stage in her pregnancy. Mycoplasma hominis was isolated most often from the women who had threatened abortions but otherwise the prevalence of the other various micro-organisms was similar in women who had spontaneous abortions, threatened abortions, and in those who had pregnancies uncomplicated by vaginal bleeding. It was clear, therefore, that C. trachomatis played no role in the aetiology of spontaneous abortion in the population studied and there was no suggestion that any of the other micro-organisms were involved either.     

Spontaneous abortion-an infectious aetiology?

Summary. The role of Chlamydia trachomatis , genital mycoplasmas, Campylobacter spp. and other aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in the aetiology of spontaneous abortion was investigated prospectively in 241 pregnant women at a community hospital. Sixteen women who had threatened abortions were a little younger, of lower social class and had had more previous spontaneous abortions than the 76 women who aborted or the 149 women whose pregnancies were not complicated in the early stages by haemorrhage. The demographic characteristics of the latter two groups of women were similar. C.trachomatis was isolated from the cervix of only one woman and she had no genital-tract bleeding at any stage in her pregnancy. Mycoplasma hominis was isolated most often from the women who had threatened abortions but otherwise the prevalence of the other various micro-organisms was similar in women who had spontaneous abortions, threatened abortions, and in those who had pregnancies uncomplicated by vaginal bleeding. It was clear, therefore, that C.trachomatis played no role in the aetiology of spontaneous abortion in the population studied and there was no suggestion that any of the other micro-organisms were involved either.     

Randomized treatment of mucopurulent cervicitis with doxycycline or amoxicillin

A randomized trial of doxycycline versus amoxicillin was performed to treat mucopurulent cervicitis. Chlamydia trachomatis, the most common single agent associated with mucopurulent cervicitis, was isolated from 30 (47%) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae from five (8%) of 64 patients. Patients were followed up for 3 months, and the effect of treatment was assessed by clinical (presence of endocervical mucopus, cervicitis severity score, and number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes on Gram-stained smears of endocervical secretions) and microbiologic criteria. Doxycycline and amoxicillin were equally effective for treating chlamydial and nonchlamydial cervicitis. However, endocervical mucopus was still present in 18% of the patients in both treatment groups after 2 months and in 23% of the doxycycline group and 33% of the amoxicillin group after 3 months of therapy. The cause of persistent/recurrent mucopus after antimicrobial treatment was not explained by relapse or reinfection with Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, genital mycoplasmas, or Gardnerella vaginalis, but persistence was associated with the degree of cervical ectopy.     

Microbiology and treatment of late postpartum endometritis

Eighteen vaginally delivered women who developed late postpartum endometritis seven to 42 days after delivery were prospectively studied. Multiple microorganisms were recovered from the endometrium, including Chlamydia trachomatis, genital mycoplasmas, and a wide variety of bacteria. Erythromycin therapy was successful in ten of the 13 women who were followed.     

The etiology of infectious cervicitis in women

Infectious cervicitis is a common disease in women of reproductive age. A prospective study was carried out including 70 women with clinical manifestations of cervicitis during gynecological and colposcopic examination. In 19 women (27%), Chlamydia trachomatis was demonstrated by direct immunofluorescence in cervical smears. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated in 2 women and 1 had a concomitant infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum were isolated in 7 patients and 4 had cytological smears consistent with Human Papilloma Virus infection. In the rest 47 patients no etiological agent was found. The results of the present study indicate that the most common etiological cause for infectious cervicitis can be Chlamydia trachomatis and an examination for this organism should me mandatory in women with infectious cervicitis for guiding the correct diagnosis and treatment.     

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.     

Male genital mycoplasmas and Chlamydia trachomatis culture: its relationship with accessory gland function, sperm quality, and autoimmunity

To study the effect of mycoplasmas and Chlamydia trachomatis infection on semen quality, these microorganisms were cultured from the semen and anterior urethra respectively, in a group of 175 infertile men suspected of a silent genital infection with a poor postcoital test. Chlamydia infection, but not mycoplasmas, was parodoxically more frequent in the apparently normal than oligotetratoasthenozoospermia patients. Mycoplasmas male infection, but not chlamydia, was more frequent in cases with female, mechanical, and/or organic infertility factors. Infection was unrelated to the accessory gland evaluation or sperm variables. However, seminal antisperm antibody activity was significantly increased in cases with any positive culture. By this local antibody increase, chlamydia and mycoplasmas may significantly reduce sperm egg penetration ability.     

Role of Chlamydia trachomatis in postpartum endometritis

To investigate the role of Chlamydia trachomatis in puerperal endometritis, 72 patients with endometritis following vaginal or cesarean section delivery were studied. Blood, urine and endometrial cultures for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and for C trachomatis were performed for all patients. C trachomatis was isolated in 25% of patients with endometritis. Patients with post-vaginal-delivery endometritis and a positive C trachomatis culture had a later onset of infection as well as a favorable clinical response to treatment despite persistence of C trachomatis in their endometrial cultures at the end of therapy. Cephalosporins failed to eradicate C trachomatis from endometrial cultures after five days of intravenous therapy.     

A further look at infection at the time of therapeutic abortion

Microbiological investigations and clinical follow-up were performed on 516 patients undergoing first-trimester termination of pregnancy, over a 2-year period. Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated by pre-operative microbiological screening in 6.7% of patients, gonococcus in 0.4% and Trichomonas vaginalis in 2%. Candida spp and Gardnerella vaginalis were isolated from 16% and 28% of the women, respectively. Patients who had positive cervical chlamydial isolation were significantly younger (less than 22 years) than those who did not. Doctor's clinical diagnosis of genital tract infection was found to be associated with a positive screening result but not with the likelihood of postabortal pelvic infection. Among the 175 patients followed up in the outpatient clinic, 4 of the 15 patients with a positive result for N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis and/or T. vaginalis developed postoperative pelvic infection, which is significantly more than the group who did not harbour any of these three organisms (9/114).     

Recovery of Chlamydia trachomatis from the endometrium of women at risk for chlamydial infection

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted disease in Western Society today and is a major cause of salpingitis and tubal infertility. However, the frequency with which it produces upper genital tract infection in asymptomatic women has not been determined. Endometrial, endocervical, and urethral cultures for C. trachomatis were obtained from 60 women who were at risk for chlamydial infection but who did not have evidence of endometritis or salpingitis on physical examination. Chlamydia was isolated from the lower genitourinary tract in 26 (43%) and from the endometrium in 12 (20%). Thus 12 of 29 (41%) women infected with C. trachomatis had endometrial infections. Upper genital infections appear to be common in women at risk for chlamydial infection, and spread to the upper tract may occur shortly after the infection is acquired.     

The frequency of Chlamydia detection in gynecologic and obstetrical patients and newborns

Chlamydia trachomatis is said to play an important role in the pathogenesis of gynecologic, perinatal and neonatal infectious morbidity. Chlamydia trachomatis is responsible for several infectious syndromes in non-pregnant women, mothers and their offspring. We investigated the incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis in 353 non-pregnant and pregnant women without complaints and in 50 newborn. Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from 6% of genital carcinoma, about 20% of different gynecological diseases and pregnant women within the first and third trimenon, 35% of puerperas and 10% of newborns. The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis antibody occurred in 34 to 55% of the non-pregnant and pregnant women and in 38% of the newborns. We propose a screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in high-risk patients and in pregnancy and a treatment of infected individuals.     

Clindamycin therapy for Chlamydia trachomatis in women

The population for this study consisted of 4013 sexually active women seen for family planning. Culture for Chlamydia trachomatis yielded an isolation rate of 6.1%. Women aged 16 to 25 accounted for 81.7% of the C. trachomatis infections, while those younger than 16 or older than 35 accounted for only 2.4% of the infections. Of the 246 patients whose cultures were positive for C. trachomatis, 159 (65%) were asymptomatic. The incidence of C. trachomatis was 11.2% among those with symptoms but only 6.4% among the asymptomatic group. Among 63 patients with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (who were excluded from the study), 26 (41.3%) also were infected by C. trachomatis. There were no microbiologic drug failures with erythromycin or clindamycin. Of 56 patients who enrolled in the clindamycin arm of the protocol, 48 (85.7%) completed therapy and experienced microbiologic and clinical cures. In contrast, erythromycin therapy was completed by only 25 of 57 women (43.9%) enrolled. The number of side effect failures for erythromycin was 22 of 57 (38.6%). This was more than five times the number of side effect failures for clindamycin (4 of 56, or 7.1%).     

Characteristics of three vaginal flora patterns assessed by gram stain among pregnant women. Vaginal Infections and Prematurity Study Group.

This study was undertaken to define the characteristics and persistence of vaginal flora in 7918 pregnant women at 23 to 26 weeks' gestation. Vaginal smears were categorized as normal (predominant lactobacilli), intermediate (reduced lactobacilli), or positive for bacterial vaginosis. The women with normal flora were least likely to have elevated vaginal pH, amine odor, milky discharge, or colonization by Gardnerella, Bacteroides, or genital mycoplasmas. Women with intermediate vaginal flora had intermediate frequencies of these clinical signs and microorganisms. Group B streptococci and yeast were associated with normal or intermediate flora, whereas Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis were recovered more frequently from women with intermediate flora or bacterial vaginosis. Trichomonas vaginalis was most associated with intermediate flora. At follow-up, 81% of the women with normal flora had remained normal. Of the women with intermediate flora, 32% acquired bacterial vaginosis and 30% shifted to normal flora. Only 12% of the women with bacterial vaginosis had shifted to normal flora. We conclude that there are two primary stable vaginal flora patterns (normal flora or bacterial vaginosis) and a third less distinct transitional flora pattern between these two.     

Chlamydia Trachomatis Isolation in Women Attending a VD Clinic in Auckland, New Zealand

Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from 120 of 504 women (24%) attending a VD clinic at Auckland Hospital. Epidemiological correlates indicated a sexual mode of transmission. The only symptom of significance was lower abdominal pain. Cervicitis was more common in women with chlamydia, especially if they were on hormonal contraceptives. Chlamydia was isolated more commonly in women with gonorrhoea (52%) and genital warts (37%). The high incidence of asymptomatic and unsuspected infection emphasizes the need for routine chlamydial culture in VD clinics.     

Vaginitis in sexually active women: relationship to nine sexually transmitted organisms

Women seen for symptoms suggestive of vulvovaginitis were studied for the detection of Mycoplasma hominis. Ureaplasma urealyticum, yeast, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Gardnerella vaginalis, herpes simplex virus, group B beta-hemolytic streptococci, aerobes, anaerobes, and Trichomonas vaginalis. Asymptomatic women who reported to be sexually active and agreed to undergo comprehensive genital cultures were used as controls. There was a significant association of vulvovaginitis with the recovery of sexually transmitted organisms. However, all organisms were also recovered from asymptomatic patients. A total of 468 sexually transmitted organisms were recovered from 253 symptomatic patients (1.85 organisms per patient), while 125 were recovered from 130 asymptomatic patients (0.96 organisms per patient). The difference in prevalence between symptomatic and asymptomatic women for Chlamydia trachomatis, group B streptococcus, and the mycoplasmas was not statistically significant. Factors that predispose patients to the manifestations of symptoms are not clearly understood.     

Planning of empirical antibiotic therapy for women with pelvic inflammatory diseases: a geographical area-specific study

OBJECTIVE: Elaboration of an empiric antibiotic regimen for women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) for a geographical area in eastern Hungary. STUDY DESIGN: Pathogens were identified by culturing or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from 2215 patients with suspected PID between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001. Empiric guidelines for PID treatment were based on susceptibility testing of the recovered bacteria, patient acceptance and cost-effectiveness of drugs and recommendations of earlier studies. RESULTS: Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 11%, Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 2%, Streptococcus spp. in 17%, Enterococcus spp. 9%, genital mycoplasmas in 25%, all obligate anaerobic pathogens in 30% of the patients. All antibiotics chosen for our regimen were effective in vitro against one or more recovered pathogens at least in 80%; this regimen produced 98% clinical cure rate in mild cases of PID. CONCLUSION: Early detection and prompt empirical antimicrobial therapy adapted to the local microflora and its resistance pattern can lead to good clinical results.     

The role of chlamydia trachomatis and some other associated microorganisms in endocervicitis

The objective of the study was to examine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis as a causative agent in women with clinically manifested endocervicitis and to find the age group where Chlamydia trachomatis was most prevalent. 553 women sexually active women in reproductive ag with clinically manifested endocervicitis e were examined. Chlamydial infection by direct immmunofluorescence was found in 239 (43, 2%) About 75% of the patients with chlamydial infection were in the age group 20-29 years. The predominant part of these women had no other associated infection except Chlamydia trachomatis. Association of Chlamydia trachomatis with candida albicans-25, 10%, bacteria vaginosis 23, 53%, Trichomonas vaginalis in 7.53% in the women with cervicitis.     

Recovery of Chlamydia trachomatis from endometrial and fallopian tube biopsies in women with infertility of tubal origin

In order to examine the role of chronic active chlamydial infection in tubal infertility, cultures for Chlamydia trachomatis were performed on endometrial biopsies from 38, and fallopian tube biopsies from all, of 52 women undergoing tubal surgery for infertility. C. trachomatis was recovered from one or both sites in 8 of 52 (15%). Five of 6 women with positive fallopian tube cultures had endometrial cultures performed, and of these, 4 (80%) were positive. Three culture-positive women had been treated with tetracycline or doxycycline. Multiple blind passage in tissue culture was required for recovery of all six fallopian tube and four of the six endometrial isolates. No specific anatomic lesion was associated with documented infection. Chronic active chlamydial infection is frequently associated with tubal infertility, may persist despite therapy, and often can be detected by endometrial biopsy culture.     

Preventive lymecycline therapy in women with a history of pelvic inflammatory disease undergoing first-trimester abortion: a clinical, controlled trial

In a clinical, controlled trial 55 women with a history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) undergoing first-trimester abortion were randomized to either lymecycline therapy or placebo. Twenty-four women received lymecycline capsules 300 mg b.i.d. for 14 days starting on the morning of the abortion and 31 received similar placebo medication. In the lymecycline group 2 women (8.3%) and in the placebo group 7 (22.6%) contracted postabortal PID, a non-significant difference (p greater than 0.2). The variables age, gestational age, number of spontaneous abortions, births and episodes of PID, and Hegar size were not associated with the rate of postabortal PID. Women without previous induced abortions had a significantly increased rate of postabortal infection (p = 0.02), but the treatment did not influence this rate. Three women had a positive culture for Chlamydia trachomatis at the time of abortion and two of these had postabortal PID. None of 7 women with postabortal PID had significant increases in IgA, IgG or IgM chlamydia antibody titers, but two women with uncomplicated abortions had serological evidence of infection. The number of hospital days and amounts of antibiotics prescribed to women with postabortal PID were not significantly different between the two treatment groups (p greater than 0.05). Women with a history of PID had an elevated risk of postabortal PID warranting the use of some sort of prophylaxis, and screening for C. trachomatis in an abortion population is recommended.