Midtrimester vaginal Mycoplasma genitalium in women with subsequent spontaneous preterm birth

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the midtrimester prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium in women who had subsequent spontaneous preterm birth. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective study of lower genital tract infections, we identified 127 women who subsequently had spontaneous preterm birth. Vagina l samples were obtained between 21 and 25 weeks' gestation for pH, for bact erial vaginosis Gram stain, and cultures that yielded Chlamydia trachomatis , Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis. M genitalium was identi fied by using validated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers, and the re sults were compared to pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: Of 124 women with spontaneous preterm births, only five (3.9%) had PCR assays positive for M genitalium. The mean +/- SD delivery gestational age was similar for women with a positive PCR (34.6 +/- 2.2 weeks) and a n egative PCR (34.0 +/- 2.7 weeks) (P = .62). None of the women with positive PCR results tested positive for any other sexually transmitted disease, wh ereas 36 (30%) women with negative PCR results tested positive. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of M genitallum in the vagina at midtrimester i s infrequent in women with subsequent spontaneous preterm birth.