Ureaplasma Infection Treatment & Management

Updated: Nov 14, 2022
  • Author: Ken B Waites, MD; Chief Editor: Michael Stuart Bronze, MD  more...
  • Print
Treatment

Medical Care

Successful treatment hinges on promptly considering Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species as potential etiologic agents, performing proper diagnostic tests for their detection, and providing appropriate antimicrobial coverage.

Although persons who are immunosuppressed (eg, those with antibody deficiencies) are rarely encountered in some practices, such individuals may have a disproportionately high frequency of serious infections caused by Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species; therefore, always consider these organisms in the patient's differential diagnosis.

Handle medical treatment according to the patient involved, the presence of underlying disease or immunodeficiency, and whether the infection is localized or disseminated. Key to providing pathogen-specific management is obtaining adequate material for microbiologic diagnosis and properly handling this material once it is collected.

Choose general treatment guidelines for conditions such as acute salpingitis, endometritis, pyelonephritis, urethritis, septic arthritis, neonatal pneumonia, and other conditions associated with or attributed to genital Mycoplasma species according to standard care practices for the various clinical syndromes.

Other than providing specific antimicrobial agents to cover Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species, no other unique aspects to the management of these conditions are beneficial.

Note that Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma organisms are often opportunists and may be present simultaneously with other pathogens in many of the above-described conditions. Treatment decisions should reflect this possibility.

Next:

Surgical Care

In circumstances such as chronic joint involvement or abscesses caused by genital mycoplasmas in antibody-deficient hosts, surgical drainage and debridement may sometimes be indicated. 

Previous