title: Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of genitourinary mycoplasma infection in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  
  
  METHODS
  Urine specimens from 49 patients with SLE and 22 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were cultured for mycoplasma. Patient records were reviewed for medical history and SLE disease activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-three percent of the SLE patients were culture positive, compared with 4.5% of the CFS patients (P less than 0.001). Neither corticosteroid treatment, SLE activity, nor age accounted for this difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genitourinary mycoplasma colonization occurs significantly more frequently in SLE than in CFS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ginsburg
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kundsin
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Schur
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D016990:Ureaplasma urealyticum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D014566:Urogenital System / Q000382:microbiology