Intrauterine Ureaplasma infection is associated with chorioamnionitis and preterm birth. The difficulty of detecting Ureaplasma species by conventional culture methods makes definitive diagnosis of clinical infection challenging. Thus far, quantitative tests for Ureaplasma have been performed using adult cervical samples, amniotic fluid, and pediatric bronchial secretions, but quantification of bacterial count in central nervous system infections caused by Ureaplasma species has not been unreported. We report a case of culture-negative Ureaplasma meningitis in a preterm infant in whom novel techniques to identify this pathogen and quantify bacterial count were effective. We suspected meningitis based on a sustained reduction in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose levels. Multiple CSF cultures were sterile. We confirmed infection by Ureaplasma species using the melting temperature mapping method. Treatment with erythromycin and ciprofloxacin resulted in a gradual decrease in the bacterial count in the CSF to 0. Our study highlights the potential utility of the melting temperature mapping method as a new diagnostic tool for culture-negative Ureaplasma meningitis and establishes the utility of serial quantification of bacterial count to monitor response to therapy.

中文翻译：

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解脲支原体脑膜炎病例的鉴定和细菌计数定量方法。


宫内解脲支原体感染与绒毛膜羊膜炎和早产有关。通过常规培养方法检测 Ureaplasma 种属的困难使得临床感染的明确诊断具有挑战性。到目前为止，已经使用成人宫颈样本、羊水和小儿支气管分泌物对解脲支原体进行了定量检测，但由解脲支原体引起的中枢神经系统感染中细菌计数的定量尚未见报道。我们报告了一例早产儿培养阴性解脲支原体脑膜炎病例，其中鉴定该病原体和定量细菌计数的新技术是有效的。我们怀疑脑膜炎是基于脑脊液 （CSF） 葡萄糖水平的持续降低。多个 CSF 培养物是无菌的。我们使用熔融温度映射方法确认了 Ureaplasma 物种的感染。用红霉素和环丙沙星治疗导致 CSF 中的细菌计数逐渐减少至 0。我们的研究强调了熔解温度标测法作为培养阴性解脲支原体脑膜炎新诊断工具的潜在效用，并确定了细菌计数连续定量以监测对治疗反应的效用。