Ureaplasma screening for pregnant individuals who are at high risk for
preterm birth: a retrospective study.
Abstract
Objective: To examine gestational age at delivery according to
Ureaplasma cervical culture results and whether pregnant individuals
received antibiotics. Study Design: A retrospective cohort study
Setting: Single academic institution Population: All pregnant
individuals with risk factors for preterm birth including those with a
history of preterm birth, recurrent pregnancy loss, or pregnancy
requiring cervical cerclage. Methods: We plotted Kaplan-Meier curves to
investigate the association between the gestational age at delivery and
Ureaplasma culture results (negative; positive and treated; or positive
but did not receive the treatment). A Cox proportional regression model
was used to calculate Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals
(95%CI), controlling for confounders. Main outcome: Gestational age at
delivery. Results: Of 607 individuals, 258 (42.5%) had a negative
Ureaplasma culture, 308 (50.7%) had a positive Ureaplasma culture and
received treatment, and 41 (6.8%) had a positive Ureaplasma culture and
did not receive treatment. Compared to those who had a positive
Ureaplasma culture but did not receive treatment, those who had a
negative Ureaplasma culture did not have a decreased risk (HR 1.03;
95%CI 0.74-1.44). Compared to those who had a positive Ureaplasma
culture but did not receive treatment, those who had a positive
Ureaplasma culture and received treatment did not have a decreased risk
(HR 0.91; 95%CI 0.66-1.27). The treatment failure rate of Ureaplasma
after treatment was 78.6% (95%CI 72.8-83.7%). Conclusion: Routine
Ureaplasma cervical culture is not recommended for pregnant individuals
who are at high risk for preterm birth