[Lactoferrin assay in urethritis and urethral prostatitis].

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Immunochemistry
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Urethritis and urethroprostatitis are common conditions often caused by polymicrobial infections.
• Accurate diagnosis of mixed infections is crucial for effective treatment and preventing complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate lactoferrin levels in prostatic secretions as a biomarker for mixed infections in patients with urethritis and urethroprostatitis.
• To assess the diagnostic performance of an immunochemical test for lactoferrin in detecting these mixed infections.

Main Methods:

• An immunochemical study was conducted on prostatic secretions from 97 patients with urethritis/urethroprostatitis and 14 healthy controls.
• Lactoferrin levels were measured and analyzed, comparing patients with mixed infections (trichomonads + chlamydia, trichomonads + uroplasma) to controls and the overall patient group.
• Diagnostic significance was evaluated by assessing specificity, sensitivity, effectiveness, and prognostic values at different lactoferrin threshold levels (150 mg/l and 200 mg/l).

Main Results:

• Patients with mixed infections exhibited significantly higher mean lactoferrin levels (221.25 mg/l) compared to controls (51.2 mg/l) and the overall patient group (106 mg/l).
• At a threshold of 150 mg/l, the lactoferrin test showed 87.5% specificity and 94.1% sensitivity for detecting mixed infections.
• At a threshold of 200 mg/l, specificity increased to 100% with 52.9% sensitivity, indicating high accuracy in identifying specific mixed infection profiles.

Conclusions:

• Lactoferrin is a significant biomarker for detecting mixed infections in patients suffering from urethritis and urethroprostatitis.
• The proposed immunochemical test demonstrates practical utility and high diagnostic accuracy, particularly in identifying specific mixed infection scenarios.
• This test can aid clinicians in differentiating between mono- and mixed infections, guiding appropriate therapeutic strategies.