Chlamydia and Mycoplasmal Mucosal Infections

Men develop symptomatic urethritis after a 7- to 28-day incubation period, usually beginning with mild dysuria, discomfort in the urethra, and a clear to mucopurulent discharge. Discharge may be slight, and symptoms may be mild but are frequently more marked early in the morning; then, the urethral meatus is often red and blocked with dried secretions, which may also stain underclothes. Occasionally, onset is more acute and severe, with severe dysuria, frequency, and a copious, purulent discharge that simulates gonococcal urethritis. Infection may progress to epididymitis Epididymitis Epididymitis is inflammation of the epididymis, occasionally accompanied by inflammation of the testis (epididymo-orchitis). Scrotal pain and swelling usually occur unilaterally. Diagnosis is... read more . After rectal or orogenital contact with an infected person, proctitis Proctitis Proctitis is inflammation of the rectal mucosa, which may result from infection, inflammatory bowel disease, or radiation. Symptoms are rectal discomfort and bleeding. Diagnosis is by proctoscopy... read more or pharyngitis Tonsillopharyngitis Tonsillopharyngitis is acute infection of the pharynx, palatine tonsils, or both. Symptoms may include sore throat, odynophagia, cervical lymphadenopathy, and fever. Diagnosis is clinical, supplemented... read more may develop.

Women are usually asymptomatic, although vaginal discharge, dysuria, increased urinary frequency and urgency, pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and symptoms of urethritis may occur. Cervicitis Cervicitis Cervicitis is infectious or noninfectious inflammation of the cervix. Findings may include cervical or vaginal discharge and cervical erythema and friability. Diagnosis is with tests for cervical... read more with yellow, mucopurulent exudate and cervical ectopy (expansion of the red endocervical epithelium onto the vaginal surfaces of the cervix) are characteristic. Pelvic inflammatory disease Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a polymicrobial infection of the upper female genital tract: the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries; abscess may occur. PID may be caused by sexually... read more (PID; salpingitis and pelvic peritonitis) may cause lower abdominal discomfort (typically bilateral) and marked tenderness when the abdomen, adnexa, and cervix are palpated. Long-term consequences of PID include ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome (perihepatitis) may cause right upper quadrant pain, fever, and vomiting.

Chlamydiae may be transferred to the eye, causing acute conjunctivitis Acute Bacterial Conjunctivitis Acute conjunctivitis can be caused by numerous bacteria. Symptoms are hyperemia, lacrimation, irritation, and discharge. Diagnosis is clinical. Treatment is with topical antibiotics, augmented... read more .

Reactive arthritis Reactive Arthritis Reactive arthritis is an acute spondyloarthropathy that often seems precipitated by an infection, usually genitourinary or gastrointestinal. Common manifestations include asymmetric arthritis... read more caused by immunologic reactions to genital and intestinal infections is an infrequent complication of chlamydial infections in adults. Reactive arthritis sometimes is accompanied by skin lesions (keratoderma blennorrhagicum), eye lesions (conjunctivitis Overview of Conjunctivitis Conjunctival inflammation typically results from infection, allergy, or irritation. Symptoms are conjunctival hyperemia and ocular discharge and, depending on the etiology, discomfort and itching... read more and uveitis Overview of Uveitis Uveitis is defined as inflammation of the uveal tract—the iris, ciliary body, and choroid. However, the retina and fluid within the anterior chamber and vitreous are often involved as well.... read more ), noninfectious recurrent urethritis, or balanitis Balanitis, Posthitis, and Balanoposthitis Balanitis is inflammation of the glans penis, posthitis is inflammation of the prepuce, and balanoposthitis is inflammation of both. Inflammation of the head of the penis has both infectious... read more .

Infants born to women with chlamydial cervicitis may develop chlamydial pneumonia Chlamydial Pneumonia Neonatal pneumonia is lung infection in a neonate. Onset may be within hours of birth and part of a generalized sepsis syndrome or after 7 days and confined to the lungs. Signs may be limited... read more or ophthalmia neonatorum (neonatal conjunctivitis Neonatal Conjunctivitis Neonatal conjunctivitis is watery or purulent ocular drainage due to a chemical irritant or a pathogenic organism. Prevention with antigonococcal topical treatment at birth is routine. Diagnosis... read more ).

Chlamydial or mycoplasmal infection is suspected in patients with symptoms of urethritis, salpingitis, cervicitis, or unexplained proctitis, but similar symptoms can also result from gonococcal infection.

If clinical evidence for urethritis is uncertain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2021 Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines state that urethritis can be documented by any of the following:

Samples of cervical or vaginal specimens or male urethral or rectal exudates are obtained to check for chlamydiae. Urine samples can be used as an alternative to cervical or urethral specimens. Throat and rectal swabs are needed to test for infection at those sites.

Commercially available nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are highly sensitive and specific for chlamydia and can also be done on self-collected urine or vaginal specimens, eliminating the need for doing an uncomfortable swab of the urethra or cervix. Point-of-care NAAT platforms are available and can provide same-visit results. In general, samples from the throat and rectum should be tested only in laboratories that have verified the use of these tests for those anatomic sites.

Because other STIs (particularly gonococcal infection) often coexist, patients who have symptomatic urethritis should also be tested for gonorrhea Diagnosis Gonorrhea is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It typically infects epithelia of the urethra, cervix, rectum, pharynx, or conjunctivae, causing irritation or pain and purulent... read more . All patients who receive a diagnosis of gonorrhea or chlamydia should be tested for other STIs, including syphilis and HIV.

Mycoplasma genitalium can be detected using commercial NAAT assays, but those may not be widely available.

In the US, confirmed cases of chlamydial infection, gonorrhea, and syphilis must be reported to the public health system.

Uncomplicated documented or suspected chlamydial infections are treated with one of the following:

Azithromycin (given as a single dose) is preferred to medications that require multiple doses over 7 days, although there is some evidence that doxycycline may be preferable for rectal chlamydia (1 Treatment references Sexually transmitted urethritis, cervicitis, proctitis, and pharyngitis (that are not due to gonorrhea) are caused predominantly by chlamydiae and less frequently by mycoplasmas. Chlamydiae... read more ).

For pregnant women, azithromycin 1 g orally once should be used. Amoxicillin 500 mg orally 3 times a day for 7 days is an alternative therapy for pregnant women. Pregnant women should have a test of cure 4 weeks after treatment and be retested within 3 months.

For mycoplasma, preferred treatment is doxycycline 100 mg orally twice a day for 7 days, followed by moxifloxacin 400 mg orally once a day for 7 days for those with unknown azithromycin susceptibility or known azithromycin resistance (2 Treatment references Sexually transmitted urethritis, cervicitis, proctitis, and pharyngitis (that are not due to gonorrhea) are caused predominantly by chlamydiae and less frequently by mycoplasmas. Chlamydiae... read more ). If there is known azithromycin susceptibility, treatment is doxycycline 100 mg orally twice a day for 7 days followed by azithromycin 1g orally initial dose followed by 500 mg orally once a day for 3 additional days.

These regimens do not reliably treat gonorrhea, which coexists in many patients with chlamydial infections. Therefore, treatment should include a single dose of ceftriaxone 500 mg IM (1 g IM for patients weighing ≥ 150 kg) if gonorrhea has not been excluded.

Patients who relapse (about 10%) are usually coinfected with microbes that do not respond to antichlamydial therapy, or they were reinfected since treatment.

They should be retested for chlamydial infection and gonorrhea and, if possible, for mycoplasma and trichomoniasis.

In areas where trichomoniasis Trichomoniasis Trichomoniasis is infection of the vagina or male genital tract with Trichomonas vaginalis. It can be asymptomatic or cause urethritis, vaginitis, or occasionally cystitis, epididymitis... read more is prevalent, empiric treatment with metronidazole is recommended unless polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing indicates patients are negative for trichomoniasis.

Current sex partners should be treated. Patients should abstain from sexual intercourse until they and their partners have been treated for ≥ 1 week.

If chlamydial genital infections are untreated, symptoms and signs subside within 4 weeks in about two thirds of patients. However, in women, asymptomatic cervical infection may persist, resulting in chronic endometritis, salpingitis, or pelvic peritonitis and their sequelae—pelvic pain, infertility, and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. Because chlamydial infections can have serious long-term consequences for women, even when symptoms are mild or absent, detecting the infection in women and treating them and their sex partners is crucial.

The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of these resources.