Cervicitis: limited clinical utility for the detection of Mycoplasma genitalium in a cross-sectional study of women attending a New Zealand sexual health clinic
Jeannie Oliphant A B and Sunita Azariah A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Auckland Sexual Health Service, Greenlane Clinical Centre, Private Bag 92024, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
B Corresponding author. Email: jeannieo@adhb.govt.nz
Sexual Health 10(3) 263-267 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH12168
Submitted: 9 October 2012 Accepted: 8 February 2013 Published: 24 May 2013
Abstract
Background: Although multiple studies have confirmed Mycoplasma genitalium as a cause of nongonococcal urethritis in men, there is less evidence of its pathogenicity in women. Our aims were to determine the prevalence of M. genitalium in a sample of women attending a sexual health clinic and to assess whether there was any association between the detection of M. genitalium and a diagnosis of cervicitis in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study recruited women who required screening for sexually transmissible infections. Endocervical swabs to detect the presence of M. genitalium were taken in addition to routine testing for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis. Data were collected on demographics, sexual behaviour, clinical symptoms and the presence of clinical or microscopic cervicitis. Results: The prevalence of M. genitalium was 8.4% (n = 22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.4–12.5%) in the study sample of 261 women. There was an association between the finding of cervical contact bleeding (odds ratio OR): 5.45; 95% CI: 1.93–15.42, P = 0.001) and microscopic cervicitis (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 0.95–7.34, P = 0.06) and the presence of M. genitalium when compared with women with no diagnosed infection; however, the latter finding was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of M. genitalium was high at 8.4%, the overall lack of any association between the findings of cervicitis and the detection of M. genitalium support the conclusion that cervicitis has poor clinical utility as an indicator for the presence of M. genitalium infection.
Additional keywords: cervical contact bleeding, sexually transmissible infections, testing.
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