title: Polymerase chain reaction versus culture for detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in the urogenital tract of adults and the respiratory tract of newborns.
abstract: The efficiency of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was compared with that of culture for detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in 726 clinical specimens comprising 189 gynecological samples, 362 urological samples, and 175 samples from newborn infants. The sensitivity of PCR versus culture was 95% for both organisms, while the sensitivity of culture versus PCR was 91% for Ureaplasma urealyticum and 84% for Mycoplasma hominis. Furthermore, PCR tests were faster than culture tests, allowing the time to diagnosis to be reduced from two to five days to 24 h.
authors.affiliation: Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abele-Horn
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dressel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vahlensieck
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pfaff
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruckdeschel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019535:Mycoplasma hominis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D016869:Ureaplasma Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016990:Ureaplasma urealyticum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014566:Urogenital System / Q000382:microbiology