Analysis of Four Common Pathogens of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2013 to 2018

  Objective  To explore the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis(CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG), Ureaplasma urealyticum(UU), and Mycoplasma genitalium(MG) in patients with suspected sexually transmitted diseases(STD) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital(PUMCH), and to provide evidence for clinical treatment.

  Methods  The samples (including urine and genital swabs) of suspected STD patients in PUMCH between January 2013 and December 2018 were collected retrospectively. CT, UU, MG, and NG were detected using the simultaneous amplification and testing technique.

  Results  A total of 12 804 samples were analyzed. The positive rates of the four pathogens were 42.88% (4833/11 271)for UU, 8.43% (905/10 739) for CT, 5.44% (231/4246) for MG and 3.78% (338/8932) for NG. UU+CT(4.13%, 402/9725) and UU + MG (1.98%, 74/3745) were common co-infections. The positive rates of UU in female patients were higher than those in male patients of the same age, while the positive rates of CT, NG, and MG in female patients were lower than those in male patients. Except for NG and UU in female, the positive rate of single infection and co-infection(UU+CT, UU+MG) in patients ≤20 years old was the highest. The positive rates of NG and MG decreased, while the positive rates of CT and UU fluctuated in a small range. Among male patients, the positive rate of NG in urethral swabs was significantly higher than that in urine samples (12.37% vs. 5.27%, P < 0.001). Among female patients, the positive rate of UU in cervical swabs was significantly higher than that in urine (61.78% vs. 54.74%, P < 0.001) and the positive rate of CT in cervical swabs was significantly lower than that in urine (6.16% vs. 7.73%, P=0.022).

  Conclusions  From 2013 to 2018, the prevalence rates of four common STD pathogens from high to low were UU, CT, MG, and NG. UU+CT and UU+MG were common co-infections. The young people at the age of ≤20 had the highest positive rates. The positive detection rate of different items varies with different specimen types.