Purpose: Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis began to show resistance to azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic commonly used in pregnancy. Unfortunately, there are few effective and safe drugs in the clinic for genital mycoplasmas in pregnant women. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of azithromycin-resistant U. urealyticum and M. hominis infections in pregnant women. The secondary research objects were possible influencing factors and consequences of insensitive Mycoplasma infection.
Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out in pregnant women who underwent cervical Mycoplasma culture between October 2020 and October 2021 at a large general hospital in eastern China. The sociological characteristics and clinical information of these women were collected and analyzed.
Results: A total of 375 pregnant women were enrolled, and 402 cultured mycoplasma specimens were collected. Overall, 186 (49.60%) patients tested positive cervical Mycoplasma infection, and 37 (9.87%) had infections caused by azithromycin-resistant Mycoplasma. In total, 39 mycoplasma samples were insensitive to azithromycin in vitro, also showing extremely high resistance to erythromycin, roxithromycin, and clarithromycin. Azithromycin was the only antibiotic used in women with Mycoplasma cervical infection, regardless of azithromycin resistance in vitro. Statistical results showed that azithromycin-resistant cervical Mycoplasma infection in pregnant women was unrelated to age, body mass index (BMI), gestational age, number of embryos, and assisted reproductive technology (ART) use, but led to a significantly increased incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes (spontaneous abortion (SA), preterm birth (PTB), preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), and stillbirth).
Conclusion: Azithromycin-resistant U. urealyticum and M. hominis cervical infections are relatively common during pregnancy, and can increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, there is currently a lack of safe and effective drug treatments. Herein, we show that azithromycin-resistant mycoplasma infection requires timely intervention.
Keywords: azithromycin resistance, Ureaplasma urealyticum , Mycoplasma hominis , pregnant women