Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of genital <i>Mycoplasmas</i> among a group of pregnant women

Abstract

Mycoplasma hominis (MH) and Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) are important members of genital Mycoplasmas. They are implicated in urogenital infections and complicated pregnancy (chorioamnionitis, preterm delivery, abortion, and preterm birth) as well as bacterial vaginosis and cervicitis. The administration of antimicrobial agents to pregnant women with preterm rupture of the membranes (PROM) may extend the gestation period and decrease the risks of associated complications and neonatal infections. Despite empirical therapy is the rule in cases suspected to have genital infection in Egypt, the surveillance of the susceptibilities of used antibiotics is mandatory to ensure treatment efficacy and good prevention of any possible complications. This study aimed to assess the infection rate of genital Mycoplasmas (MH and UU) among pregnant females and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern to provide a provisional idea about the effectiveness of antibiotics used empirically to treat cases of genital infections in pregnant women. High vaginal swabs of 50 pregnant females were examined using Mycoplasma IES kit, for identification of UU and MH. The kit also provides the antimicrobial susceptibility results for 12 antimicrobials of five different classes. UU and MH were detected in 26/50 (52%), and 7/50 (14%) of cases respectively, of which 5 cases showed mixed infection with both organisms. UU was most sensitive to quinolones (90–95%), followed by tetracyclines (80–85%). The least sensitivity was detected with chloramphenicol and clindamycin (40% and 30% respectively). The two MH isolates (100%) were sensitive to the three tested quinolones in addition to clindamycin and thiamphenicol. MH showed 100% sensitivity to clindamycin and 75% of UU isolates were sensitive to azithromycin. Further studies are needed to detect any future changes in the susceptibility pattern for these drugs or other antibiotics.