Biomedical subjects

H R Harrison

Publications and source records attributed to H R Harrison.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Cervical colonization with Ureaplasma urealyticum and pregnancy outcome: prospective studies.

We have investigated the prevalence of endocervical Ureaplasma urealyticum and its association with abnormal pregnancy outcomes in two large unselected cohorts of pregnant women. The overall prevalences of infection in the two groups were 72.5 and 81.2%, respectively. In univariate analysis endocervical U. urealyticum was not associated with spontaneous abortion or preterm low birth weight. It was also not associated with low birth weight or postpartum endometritis/fever, either in univariate analysis or by conditional logistic regression. Endocervical colonization is not in itself a risk factor for ascending prepartum infection and abnormal outcome. For methodologic reasons prospective studies and treatment trials will not be helpful unless subgroups of infected women in whom the infection is a risk for adverse outcome can be clearly defined.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The prevalence of genital Chlamydia trachomatis and mycoplasmal infections during pregnancy in an American Indian population.

The epidemiology of cervical infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum among a group of pregnant American Indian women was investigated. The prevalences of these microorganisms were 24-30% for C. trachomatis, 50% for M. hominis, and 80% for U. urealyticum. These rates are unusually high for an unselected sample. Infection with C. trachomatis was correlated with younger age but not with primigravidity or educational level. Neither M. hominis nor U. urealyticum infection was correlated with younger age, primigravidity, or level of education. The possible consequences of the increased prevalences of C. trachomatis, M. hominis, and U. urealyticum in this group of American Indians are of concern and are being investigated.

Chlamydia Infections↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a sexually transmitted disease clinic: comparison of diagnostic tests with clinical and historical risk factors.

Of 212 consecutive male patients and 212 consecutive female patients attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic, 36 (17%) men and 28 (13%) women had urethral or cervical cultures positive for Chlamydia trachomatis. When compared with culture, the direct fluorescent antibody test (MicroTrak, Syva Co., Palo Alto, CA) had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 97% in men; for women the sensitivity and specificity were 68% and 82%, respectively. One percent of test slides from men and 11% of slides from women were uninterpretable. Designation of high-risk patients for presumptive treatment, i.e., those with suggestive clinical syndromes, gonococcal infection, or exposure to others considered at high risk for chlamydial infection, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, proved to be 94% sensitive, 22% specific in men, and 82% sensitive, 35% specific in women when compared with results of culture. Three different screening methods using mucopurulent cervicitis, a cervicitis score, and a series of key risk factors were less sensitive than presumptive treatment and performed worse in our study than in those published previously. Our findings suggest that use of presumptive treatment guidelines appears to be effective in directing treatment to STD clinic patients with chlamydial infection.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prospective studies of Mycoplasma hominis infection in pregnancy.

The prevalence of Mycoplasma hominis infection in ten different studies of pregnant women ranged from 7.3% to 50%. It is unclear, however to what extent M. hominis is a pathogen to the mother or fetus. Prospective studies have attempted to investigate the role of M. hominis in complications of pregnancy. Several have indicated a role for the agent in postpartum fever and endometritis, but only one so far has demonstrated the association in a large-scale sample independent of other suspected pathogens. M. hominis has not been implicated in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, and only one study has shown an association with low birth weight. There is evidence that M. hominis-infected women with low or absent prenatal titers of antibody to this organism are at risk for puerperal complications, and that serologic definition of the activity of infection may be a better predictor of outcome than is the mere presence of the organism. There is need for more information on all major pathogens and their roles, each independent of each other, and on the roles of non-infectious factors and the host's antibody status in determining abnormal outcomes of pregnancy.

Adult↗