Yonsei Med J.  2016 Sep;57(5):1271-1275. 10.3349/ymj.2016.57.5.1271.

Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in Pregnant Women

• Lee MY
• Kim MH
• Lee WI
• Kang SY
• Jeon YL

• KMID: 2374175
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2016.57.5.1271

Abstract

Mycoplasma hominis (M. hominis) and Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) are important opportunistic pathogens that cause urogenital infections and complicate pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, effects on pregnancy outcomes, and antimicrobial susceptibilities of M. hominis and U. urealyticum. We tested vaginal swabs obtained from 1035 pregnant women for the presence of genital mycoplasmas between June 2009 and May 2014. The laboratory and clinical aspects of genital mycoplasmas infection were reviewed retrospectively, and the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of genital mycoplasmas were determined using the Mycoplasma IST-2 kit. A total of 571 instances of M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum were detected. Of them, M. hominis was detected in two specimens, whereas U. urealyticum was detected in 472 specimens. The remaining 97 specimens were positive for both M. hominis and U. urealyticum. Preterm deliveries were frequently observed in cases of mixed infection of M. hominis and U. urealyticum, and instances of preterm premature rupture of membrane were often found in cases of U. urealyticum. The rates of non-susceptible isolates to erythromycin, empirical agents for pregnant women, showed increasing trends. In conclusion, the prevalence of M. hominis and/or U. urealyticum infections in pregnant women is high, and the resistance rate of antimicrobial agents tends to increase. Therefore, to maintain a safe pregnancy, it is important to identify the isolates and use appropriate empirical antibiotics immediately.

Keyword

Mycoplasma hominis; Ureaplasma urealyticum; antimicrobial susceptibility breakpoint determination

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology/therapeutic use
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Middle Aged
Mycoplasma Infections/drug therapy/*epidemiology
Mycoplasma hominis/*drug effects/physiology
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/drug therapy/*epidemiology
Pregnancy Outcome
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Ureaplasma Infections/drug therapy/*epidemiology
Ureaplasma urealyticum/*drug effects/physiology
Young Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Trend in prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu) and Mycoplasma hominis (Mh).

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  Fig. 2 The rates of erythromycin resistance and intermediate of Ureaplasma urealyticum isolates.

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