The microbiome state of lower parts of the reproductive tract in pregnant women infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum depending on the colonization degree

Abstract

Assessment of the microbiome state of the lower parts of the reproductive tract in pregnant women infected with various concentrations of Ureaplasma urealyticum. Bacterioscopic and bacteriological tests of the vaginal secretions of 112 pregnant women infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum were performed using traditional methods. Isolated microorganisms were identified mainly up to the genus level. Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated by the generally accepted quantitative variant of the bacteriological test. In 85.7% of pregnant women infected with U. urealyticum, coccoid and mixed morphotypes of bacteria prevailed in smears, whereas in conditionally healthy ones they were detected in 12.5% of samples. They were most often found to have an inflammatory reaction, key cells and a positive amine test. Changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the microbiome of the vaginal biotope—a decrease in the titer of resident microorganisms and an increase in the spectrum and number of opportunistic pathogens—were recorded in more than 80% of infected pregnant women. These disorders were more significant in the subgroup of pregnant women with high genital colonization with U. urealyticum. As a result, bacterial vaginosis and vaginitis were statistically significantly more common in infected women. Normocenosis was registered in 47.6% of cases, compared to 77.5% in the comparison group. U. urealyticum infection of the lower parts of the reproductive tract in pregnant women leads to significant violations of the microbiome of the vaginal biotope accompanied by the development of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vaginitis. The probability of their development increases with a rise in the titer of ureaplasmas.