Contents
What is mycoplasmosis?
Mycoplasmosis is an infectious disease that occurs in an acute form. Mycoplasmosis is caused by microorganisms (mycoplasmas), which in the generally accepted classification of pathogens occupy a place between unicellular living microorganisms and multicellular pathogens of viral or bacterial infections.
Approximately 70 species of mycoplasmas are described in the specialized literature, but only a few are dangerous to humans.
Causes of mycoplasmosis
In human cells, 11 types of mycoplasmas can parasitize, but only Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium can serve as the cause of mycoplasmosis. The discussion between scientists about the pathogenicity of these microorganisms is still not over, so there is no unambiguous answer to the question of whether pathogens always cause mycoplasmosis or only under certain circumstances. Perhaps the disease occurs only if there are other pathogens in the vagina. Most likely, the causative agent of the disease itself is not dangerous, since the results of laboratory tests for mycoplasmosis can be positive both in patients and in completely healthy men and women.
Mycoplasmas are parasites and can exist exclusively on the surface of human cells, which serve as a source of nutrients for these microorganisms. The causative agents of the disease settle on the cells of the vagina and urinary tract. Violation of the microflora of the vagina, as well as the presence of pathogens of certain infections (trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes) causes a high concentration of mycoplasmas in the vagina. In this case, microorganisms are able to destroy the cells on which they parasitize. The disease causes damage to the urethra, provokes diseases of the prostate gland or cervix and vagina.
The reason for the transmission of infection can only serve as a traditional sexual intercourse, which involves a man and a woman. Homosexual contacts and oral sex cannot cause mycoplasmosis. Cases of domestic transmission of infection in the medical literature are also not described.
Symptoms and consequences of mycoplasmosis
Mycoplasmosis causes many diseases in gynecology – salpingitis, endometritis, inflammatory diseases of the vagina and cervical canal. If the doctor cannot establish the cause of one of the diseases listed above, then it is likely that the disease in a woman is an indirect symptom of mycoplasmosis. Usually, the disease manifests itself in the form of transparent, non-abundant discharge and a burning sensation during urination. The patient also notes pain in the groin, aggravated during intercourse or immediately after it. Symptoms of latent mycoplasmosis can also be primary miscarriage, polyhydramnios, abnormalities in the development of the placenta, and some other complications that occur during pregnancy. If the disease becomes chronic, then secondary infertility may develop, since mycoplasmosis causes a violation of the ovulation process, namely the maturation of the egg.
After suffering mycoplasmosis, women may have serious complications in the form of various inflammatory processes of the pelvic organs. Pathogens can be transmitted from the mother to the fetus in the womb, which can cause spontaneous abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. In the third trimester, the disease can cause the onset of labor before the due date. Mycoplasmas enter the body of a woman mainly through sexual contact.
In pediatrics, mycoplasmosis causes diseases of the respiratory and genitourinary tract. Pathogens settle on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, upper respiratory tract, lungs, they affect the vulva and vagina in girls, as well as the bladder in boys and girls. Mycoplasmas enter the child’s body by airborne droplets or from mother to fetus during intrauterine infection.
Men get mycoplasmosis less often than other sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, gonorrhea). In most cases, they are carriers of pathogens; antibodies to an infectious disease can often be detected in their blood during a laboratory test with hidden symptoms or the almost complete absence of symptoms of mycoplasmosis. The route of transmission of infection in men is airborne or sexual.
40% of cases of mycoplasmosis in men are hidden, only under certain conditions (stress, weakening of the body’s defenses) mycoplasmas become active and cause a number of serious complications. Symptoms of mycoplasmosis in such cases may be mild clear discharge from the urethra in the morning, pain in the inguinal region of a pulling nature, a feeling of discomfort and a burning sensation during urination. If mycoplasmas parasitize testicular cells, then the disease can manifest itself as redness, enlargement of the testicles in size, and pain in the scrotum. Such a course of mycoplasmosis can cause disruptions in the process of spermatogenesis.
The incubation period for mycoplasmosis lasts from 5 to 20 days, on average no more than 10 days. At an early stage of the disease, the symptoms in women have much in common with inflammatory processes in gynecology; in men, the manifestations of the disease at the initial stage resemble urethritis in symptoms.
Diagnosis of mycoplasmosis
Diagnosis of mycoplasmosis consists of several stages: examination by a specialist, bacteriological examination, laboratory diagnostics using various methods.
On examination, the doctor determines the condition of the walls of the vagina and cervix. The characteristic symptoms of urogenital mycoplasmosis or ureaplasmosis, noticeable upon examination, are the presence of copious discharge with a characteristic pungent odor, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the vaginal walls (redness, irritation), inflammation of the cervical canal.
Given the symptoms of mycoplasmosis identified during the examination, the doctor may recommend undergoing an additional examination for syphilis, prescribing an ultrasound of the pelvic organs, writing out a referral for urinalysis, blood, etc.
A bacteriological or cytological smear can help a specialist to establish the causes of the inflammatory process. Mycoplasmas cannot be detected by such tests, but nevertheless this analysis is very important for identifying other pathogens of infectious diseases, such as gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, which can cause symptoms that have much in common with symptoms of urogenital mycoplasmosis .
For a more accurate diagnosis, sowing of vaginal discharge or discharge from the penis is used, which allows you to study the pathogens of mycoplasmosis in more detail, to establish their sensitivity to various antibiotics. Based on the results of such a study, one can judge the population size of pathogens in the human genitourinary system.
PCR analysis of mycoplasmosis
Diagnostics based on the cultivation of a culture of pathogens refers to ineffective methods, PCR is considered the most sensitive today. So, with a negative result of sowing, the PCR method detects mycoplasmas in 90% of the examined patients.
This study is based on the determination of the DNA of microorganisms, this method is considered to be sufficiently sensitive and most accurate in diagnosing the disease. A positive result during this analysis for mycoplasmosis indicates a high probability that the inflammatory process is caused by this pathogen.
Immunological analysis for mycoplasmosis
Immunological analysis for mycoplasmosis is based on the determination of IgG, IgM antibodies. It is often used to diagnose this disease. The results of such analyzes in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the countries of the former USSR are considered insufficiently accurate and therefore cannot serve for an accurate diagnosis and be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.
Most often, high titers of IgM antibodies indicate an active inflammatory process of an infectious nature. The presence of antibodies of the IgG type without IgM indicates a previous infection and suggests that, most likely, there was no infectious process at the time of the examination.
To carry out an accurate diagnosis of the disease according to the analysis for mycoplasmosis, carried out using immunological research methods, can only be a specialist who sent the patient for examination and who has information about the standards of the laboratory that conducted the analysis.
Treatment and prevention of mycoplasmosis
A positive test result for mycoplasmosis is not yet a reason for prescribing the treatment of this disease with medications. If the symptoms of the disease are pronounced, then smears are examined for other types of pathogens of gynecological and urological diseases. The cause of serious inflammatory processes in the body exclusively mycoplasmas become only in rare cases.
The method of treating the disease is based on the results of the analyzes performed and the types of pathogens identified during the laboratory study. An integrated approach to treatment involves the appointment of antifungal drugs, antiparasitic drugs, physiotherapy, drugs that increase immunity, as well as douching the urethra.
If the disease becomes chronic or gives complications, then broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is carried out. The course of treatment of the disease in most cases is 10 days, 2-3 weeks after its completion, the patient must be re-examined for the presence of the pathogen.
Relapses of mycoplasmosis are very common. To increase the effectiveness of therapy in the treatment of this disease and reduce the risk of relapse, the technology of extracorporeal antibiotic treatment is used, for which the incubation administration of antimicrobial agents in high doses is used together with the plasmapheresis procedure (blood purification).
Prevention of mycoplasmosis consists in the use of barrier methods of contraception and the passage of regular (every 6-12 months) examinations by narrow specialists (gynecologists, urologists).