Ureaplasma urealyticum infection

Ureaplasma urealyticum infection is a type of urinary tract infection that can be sexually transmitted. It can also be passed from mother to infant during birth.[1] It is caused by the bacterium Ureaplasma urealyticum,which can found in a majority of sexually active people, most of whom are asymptomatic.[2] It can also be found in cultures in cases of pelvic inflammatory disease. It is not a commensal of the healthy uterine or amniotic microbiome. Infection with U. urealyticum can contribute neonatal infection and negative birth outcomes.

Ureaplasma urealyticum infection
Types	infectious disease

Presentation

Men

It had also been associated with a number of diseases in humans, including nonspecific urethritis, and infertility.[3][4]

Women and infants

Infection in the newborn is accompanied by a strong immune response and is correlated with the need for prolonged mechanical ventilation.[5] Infection with U. urealyticum in pregnancy and birth can be complicated by chorioamnionitis, stillbirth, premature birth,[1] and, in the perinatal period, pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia[6] and meningitis.[7] U. urealyticum has been found to be present in amniotic fluid in women who have had a premature birth with intact fetal membranes.[8]

U. urealyticum has been noted as one of the infectious causes of sterile pyuria.[9] It increases the morbidity as a cause of neonatal infections.[5] It is associated with premature birth, preterm rupture of membranes, preterm labor, cesarean section, placental inflammation, congenital pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, fetal lung injury and death of infant.[4] Ureaplasma urealyticum is associated with miscarriage.[10] In addition, this pathogen may latently infect the chorionic villi tissues of pregnant women, thereby impacting pregnancy outcome.[11]

Diagnosis

Treatment

Doxycycline is the drug of choice, but azithromycin is also used as a five-day course rather than a single dose that would be used to treat Chlamydia infection;[12] streptomycin is an alternative, but is less popular because it must be injected. Penicillins are ineffective — U. urealyticum does not have a cell wall,[13] which is the drug's main target.[14][15]

References

1. Ljubin-Sternak, Suncanica; Mestrovic, Tomislav (2014). "Review: Clamydia trachonmatis and Genital Mycoplasmias: Pathogens with an Impact on Human Reproductive Health". Journal of Pathogens. 2014 (183167): 183167. doi:10.1155/2014/183167. PMC 4295611. PMID 25614838.
2. "Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma: Are they Sexually Transmitted Infections?". Treated.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
3. C. Huang; H.L. Zhu; K.R. Xu; S.Y. Wang; L.Q. Fan; W.B. Zhu (September 2015). "Mycoplasma and ureaplasma infection and male infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis". Andrology. 3 (5): 809–816. doi:10.1111/andr.12078. PMID 26311339.
4. Medscape (2017-11-17). "Ureaplasma Infection: Background, Pathophysiology, Epidemiology". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
5. Pryhuber, Gloria S. (2015). "Postnatal Infections and Immunology Affecting Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity". Clinics in Perinatology. 42 (4): 697–718. doi:10.1016/j.clp.2015.08.002. ISSN 0095-5108. PMC 4660246. PMID 26593074; Access provided by the University of Pittsburgh
6. Kafetzis DA, Skevaki CL, Skouteri V, et al. (October 2004). "Maternal genital colonization with Ureaplasma urealyticum promotes preterm delivery: association of the respiratory colonization of premature infants with chronic lung disease and increased mortality". Clin. Infect. Dis. 39 (8): 1113–22. doi:10.1086/424505. PMID 15486833.
7. Queena, John T. .; Spong, Catherine Y; Lockwood, Charles J., editors (2012). Queenan's management of high-risk pregnancy : an evidence-based approach (6th ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780470655764.
8. Payne, Matthew S.; Bayatibojakhi, Sara (2014). "Exploring Preterm Birth as a Polymicrobial Disease: An Overview of the Uterine Microbiome". Frontiers in Immunology. 5: 595. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2014.00595. ISSN 1664-3224. PMC 4245917. PMID 25505898.
9. Dieter RS (2000). "Sterile pyuria: a differential diagnosis". Compr Ther. 26 (3): 150–2. doi:10.1007/s12019-000-0001-1. PMID 10984817. S2CID 11629600.
10. Cunningham, F, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, Spong CY, Dashe JS, Hoffman BL, Casey BM, Sheffield JS (2013). "Abortion". Williams Obstetrics. McGraw-Hill. p. 5.
11. Contini C, Rotondo JC, Magagnoli F, Maritati M, Seraceni S, Graziano A, Poggi A, Capucci R, Vesce F, Tognon M, Martini F (2018). "Investigation on silent bacterial infections in specimens from pregnant women affected by spontaneous miscarriage". J Cell Physiol. 234 (1): 100–9107. doi:10.1002/jcp.26952. PMID 30078192.
12. "Ureaplasma Urealyticum and Parvum Test Online". thesticlinic.com.
13. Vancutsem E, Soetens O, Breugelmans M, Foulon W, Naessens A (2011). "Modified Real-Time PCR for Detecting, Differentiating, and Quantifying Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum". J Mol Diagn. 13 (2): 206–12. doi:10.1016/j.jmoldx.2010.10.007. PMC 3128564. PMID 21354056.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. "Drugs — Pencillin". elmhurst.edu.
15. Pignanelli S, Pulcrano G, Iula VD, Zaccherini P, Testa A, Catania MR (2013). "In vitro antimicrobial profile of Ureaplasma urealyticum from genital tract of childbearing-aged women in Northern and Southern Italy". APMIS. 122 (6): 552–5. doi:10.1111/apm.12184. PMID 24106832.

External links

Classification	D
External resources	eMedicine: med/2340