Estudio prospectivo de la incidencia de patógenos genitales oportunistas y estrictos que crecen en medios de cultivo artificiales

Background and objective

Purulent or exudative genitourinary infections are a frequent reason for consultation in primary and specialized health care. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of the microorganisms most commonly involved in the development of bacterial vaginosis, cervicitis, urethritis, vulvovaginitis, and balanitis in a general population attending 2 tertiary level hospitals in the province of Granada (Spain).

Patients and methods

All the samples received for the microbiological diagnosis of acute lower genital tract infection between February and May 2015 were analysed following a standard protocol. Detection of the microorganisms in the samples was performed by cultivation in artificial media or nucleic acid hybridisation techniques (Affirm VPIII).

Results

The analysis included a total of 2,017 samples, obtained from 1,722 different patients (1626 women and 96 men).. The presence of at least one microorganism with clinical significance was detected in 772 patients (44.8%; 745 women and 27 men). Among the women, the most frequent microorganism more found was Gardnerella vaginalis, present in the 26.7%, followed by Candida albicans (20.0%), Trichomonas. vaginalis (1.0%), and Ureaplasma urealyticum (0.4%). Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Haemophilus spp. were detected in 10.4% and 6.3% of samples of male origin, respectively.

Conclusions

In the studied population, bacterial vaginosis by G. vaginalis, vulvovaginitis by Candida spp., trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, and urethritis by Ureaplasma spp. and Haemophilus spp., were the most frequent exudative genital infections.