Recent clinical relevance of mono-genital colonization/infection by Ureaplasma parvum.

Ureaplasma parvum is the most prevalent genital mycoplasma in women of childbearing age. There is debate around the relevance of its presence in male or female genitals for disease development and as a cofactor. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of colonization/infection by U. parvum and its possible relationship with reproductive tract infections. We retrospectively analyzed the presence of U. parvum in patients referred by specialist clinicians for suspicion of genitourinary tract infection. U. parvum was detected in 23.8% of samples, significantly more frequently in females (39.9%) than in males (6%). Among the males, U. parvum was found alone in 68.4% of episodes, with Ct < 30. Among the females, U. parvum was detected in 88.6% of cases, with Ct < 30, including 22 cases with premature rupture of membranes and 6 cases with threat of preterm labor. Co-infection was significantly more frequent in females (62.6%) than in males (31.6%). Given the high prevalence of U. parvum as sole isolate in males and females with genitourinary symptoms, it should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment of genital infections, although its pathogenic role in some diseases has not been fully elucidated.

Prevalencia en varones de la población general de agentes productores de infecciones no ulcerativas del aparato genital, asistidos en atención especializada / Prevalence among males from the general population of agents responsible of not ulcerative genital tract infections, assisted in specialized care

OBJETIVO: Las infecciones de los órganos genitales en el hombre representan un grave problema por su frecuencia, morbilidad e implicación en casos de infertilidad masculina. En este trabajo se investiga, en varones asistidos en atención especializada, la presencia de los agentes productores de infecciones no ulcerativas del aparato genital. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se estudiaron de forma descriptiva y retrospectiva los resultados microbiológicos de 3.066 muestras de pacientes varones, con diagnóstico de sospecha de episodio de infección del tracto genital, recibidas entre el 1 de enero de 2016 y 31 de diciembre de 2017. La detección de los microorganismos en la muestra se realizó mediante técnicas de cultivo en medios artificiales y de PCR (BD-MAX). RESULTADOS: 451 (14,71%) muestras fueron positivas, siendo, mediante cultivo, los patógenos más frecuentes enterobacterias (18,40%), Enterococcus (13,75%), Haemophilus (8,65%), Neissseria gonorrhoeae (8,43%), Ureaplasma (5,10%) y Candida (3,77%). Mediante PCR se detectaron N. gonorrhoeae (28,37%), Chlamydia trachomatis (26,95%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (17,73%), Mycoplasma hominis y Ureaplasma parvum (10,64%), y Mycoplasma genitalium (7,10%). Se encontró mayor edad en el grupo de pacientes con presencia de enterobacterias, Candida o Enterococcus, y menor para los que tuvieron N. gonorrhoeae. CONCLUSIONES: N. gonorrhoeae y C. trachomatis siguen siendo los patógenos más frecuentes en la infección genital masculina, aunque otros microorganismos cultivables tienen un importante papel. Los ponen de manifiesto la importancia del uso sistemático tanto del cultivo tradicional como de las nuevas técnicas de PCR para la detección de patógenos

OBJECTIVE: Male genital infections are a major problem due to their high frequency and morbidity and their role in cases of male infertility. We studied the presence, in males assisted in specialized care, of non-ulcerative genital tract infections-producing agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied descriptively and retrospective microbiological results of 3,066 samples of male patients, with diagnosis of genital tract infection episode, received between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017. Detection of microorganisms in the sample was performed using techniques of artificial culture and PCR (BD-MAX). RESULTS: Positive results were obtained in 451 samples (14.71%). By culture, the most frequent pathogens were Enterobacterales (18.40%), Enterococcus (13.75%), Haemophilus (8.65%), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (8.43%), Ureaplasma (5.10%), and Candida (3.77%). By polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the most frequent were N. gonorrhoeae (28.37%), Chlamydia trachomatis (26.95%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (17.73%), Mycoplasma hominis/Ureaplasma parvum (10.64%), and Mycoplasma genitalium (7.10%). The age was older in patients infected with Enterobacterales, Candida, or Enterococcus and younger in those infected with N. gonorrhoeae. CONCLUSIONS: N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis are still more common in male genital infection pathogens, although other culturable microorganisms have an important role. These findings demonstrate the importance of systematically applying both conventional culture and PCR techniques for pathogen detection

A multicentre study investigating parameters which influence direct bacterial identification from urine.

Rapid diagnosis is one of the best ways to improve patient management and prognosis as well as to combat the development of bacterial resistance. The aim of this study was to study parameters that impact the achievement of reliable identification using a combination of flow cytometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS).The study was carried out in nine hospitals in Spain and included 1,050 urine samples with bacterial counts of 5x106 bacteria/ml. MALDI-ToF-MS-based identification was performed according to a previously described protocol. Valid identification by direct MALDI-ToF-MS was obtained in 72.8% of samples, in 80.3% of samples found to be positive by culture, 32.2% of contaminated samples, and 19.7% of negative samples. Among the positives samples with a valid identification the concordance at the species level was 97.2%. The parameters related to success of direct identification were: high bacterial count, the presence of Escherichia coli as a pathogen and rod-bacteria morphology provided by flow cytometry. The parameters related to failure were a high epithelial cell (EC) count, a high white blood cell (WBC) count and urine samples obtained from in-patients. In summary, this multicentre study confirms previously published data on the usefulness and accuracy of direct MALDI-ToF-MS-based identification of bacteria from urine samples. It seems important to evaluate not only the bacterial count, but also other parameters, such as EC and WBC counts, bacterial species and morphology, and the health care setting, to decide whether the sample is suitable for direct identification.

Streptococcus agalactiae: prevención y desarrollo de vacunas / Streptococcus agalactiae: prevention and vaccine development

Streptococcus agalactiae, estreptococo del grupo B (EGB), es la mayor causa de morbi-mortalidad entre los neonatos y un patógeno importante entre los pacientes adultos inmunodeprimidos. A pesar de los avances en la prevención y tratamiento de la infección neonatal, fruto de la implantación de las recomendaciones nacionales e internacionales que en las últimas dos décadas se han desarrollado para ello, aún quedan pendientes mejoras para el control definitivo de la enfermedad. En este sentido, la vacunación frente a EGB podría ser una medida eficaz para la prevención de la infección en aquellos casos donde la profilaxis intraparto no es útil y en pacientes adultos con factores de riesgo de desarrollar infección invasiva por EGB. Esta revisión resume los esfuerzos llevados a cabo para controlar esta infección y aporta información sobre el estado actual de las vacunas frente a EGB empleando diferentes estrategias en su diseño (AU)

Streptococcus agalactiae, group B Streptococcus (SGB), is the most important cause of morbi-mortality among newborn population, and an important pathogen among immunossupressed adult patients. Despite the advances in the treatment and prevention of neonatal infections as a consequence of implementation of national and international recommendations for prevention of infection, there are still some improvements for the final control of the disease. In this sense, the vaccination against SGB could be an effective measure for the prevention of disease in those cases where intrapartum prophylaxis is not useful and in adult patients with risk factors for invasive infection due to SGB. This review summarizes the efforts made until now in order to establish the control of the infection, and brings some information on the current state-of-the art of vaccines against SGB, in which different strategies in their design have been used (AU)

Detección de uropatógenos inusuales durante un periodo de 3 años en un hospital regional / Detection of unusual uropathogens during a period of three years in a regional hospital

Las infecciones del tracto urinario (ITUs) constituyen una de las patologías infecciosas más frecuentes tanto en la comunidad como en el ámbito hospitalario. La etiología de las ITUs está bien establecida pero puede variar dependiendo de diversos factores como la edad, la existencia de enfermedades de base como diabetes, maniobras instrumentales como la cateterización urinaria o la exposición a antibióticos y hospitalizaciones previas. Se revisaron retrospectivamente los casos diagnosticados de ITUs por microorganismos poco usuales durante un periodo de 3 años (2011-2013) en el Laboratorio de Microbiología del Hospital Virgen de las Nieves de Granada (España), siguiendo un procedimiento normalizado de trabajo, y describimos 4 casos causados por Trichosporon asahii, Aerococcus urinae, Pasteurella bettyae y Neisseria sicca. Concluimos la importancia de disponer en los Laboratorios de Microbiología Clínica de las herramientas necesarias para llegar a una correcta detección de las ITUs e identificación de patógenos usuales e infrecuentes (AU)

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most frequent both in the community and in hospitals infectious diseases. The etiology of urinary tract infections is well established but may vary depending on various factors such as age, the presence of underlying diseases such as diabetes, instrumental procedures such as urinary catheterization or exposure to antibiotics or previous hospitalizations. UTIs diagnosed cases were retrospectively reviewed for unusual microorganisms over a period of 3 years (2011-2013) in the Microbiology Laboratory of the Hospital Virgen de las Nieves of Granada (Spain), following the standard operating procedure, which we describe four cases caused by Trichosporon asahii, Aerococcus urinae, Pasteurella bettyae and Neisseria sicca. Hence the importance of having in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of the tools necessary to detection UTIs and reach a correct identification in all cases (AU)

Specimen storage in transport medium and detection of group B streptococci by culture.

Recovery of group B streptococci (GBS) was assessed in 1,204 vaginorectal swabs stored in Amies transport medium at 4 or 21 degrees C for 1 to 4 days either by direct inoculation onto Granada agar (GA) or by culture in blood agar (BA) and GA after a selective broth enrichment (SBE) step. Following storage at 4 degrees C, GBS detection in GA was not affected after 72 h by either direct inoculation or SBE; however, GBS were not detected after SBE in the BA subculture in some samples after 48 h of storage and in GA after 96 h. After storage at 21 degrees C, loss of GBS-positive results was significant after 48 h by direct inoculation in GA and after 96 h by SBE and BA subculture; some GBS-positive samples were not detected after 24 h of storage followed by SBE and BA subculture or after 48 h of storage followed by SBE and GA subculture. Storage of swabs in transport medium, even at 4 degrees C, produced after 24 h an underestimation of the intensity of GBS colonization in most specimens. These data indicate that viability of GBS is not fully preserved by storage of vaginorectal swabs in Amies transport medium, mainly if they are not stored under refrigeration.