Association between Ureaplasma urealyticum endocervical infection and spontaneous abortion.
OBJECTIVE
Ureaplasma urealyticum can colonize women genital tract and be isolated from the amniotic fluid of women with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The association of U. urealyticum with spontaneous abortion remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of U. urealyticum infection among pregnant women and its association with spontaneous abortion.


METHODS
In this case-control study we included 109 women with spontaneous abortion with gestation age between 10-20 weeks (Cases), and 109 women with normal pregnancy with gestation age between 20-30 weeks (Controls) in Sanandaj, Iran. Using specific primers and extracted DNA from endocervical swabs, a PCR test was conducted for detection of U. urealyticum in both women groups.


RESULTS
Total prevalence of U. urealyticum infection in women was 26 out of 218 cases (11.92%). The prevalence of U. urealyticum infection was 18 out of 109 (16.5%) and 8 out of 109 (7.3%) in case (spontaneous abortion) and control groups, respectively. Using chi-square test, association between U. urealyticum infection and spontaneous abortion was statistically significant (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Colonization of U. urealyticum in genital tract of women, and its asymptomatic feature in combination with other factors such as other microorganisms or cervical incompetence may induce spontaneous abortion. Further studies are needed to confirm this possibility.
Student of Research Committee, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Amjad
A
Ahmadi
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine &Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Mazaher
M
Khodabandehloo
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine &Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Rashid
R
Ramazanzadeh
Department of Genecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Fariba
F
Farhadifar
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Bahram
B
Nikkhoo
Department of Genecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Nasrin
N
Soofizade
Department of Genecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Masoome
M
Rezaii
Ureaplasma urealyticum; endocervical infection; pregnancy outcomes; spontaneous abortion