[Andrologic significance of genital mycoplasma]

The authors investigated the effect of genital mycoplasma infection of fertility. The rate of silent mycoplasma infection was studied in asymptomatic andrological patients (655 persons) and in a control group of so called "chronic prostatitis" (1085) patients with clinical symptoms. In the asymptomatic andrological group the urethral smear was positive in 12.5% of cases, the ejaculate in 22.0% of cases. In the "chronic prostatitic" group mycoplasma infection was present in urethral smear in 34.8% of cases, and in the ejaculate in 37.0% of cases. The isolation showed that 29.2% of positive ejaculate samples contained M. hominis, and 70.8% of samples was infected by U. urealyticum. For investigating the effect of mycoplasma infection on the male fertilization capacity, infected and non infected andrological patients was compared by conventional andrological parameters and by modern functional tests like bovin mucus penetration test, hypoosmotic swelling test and swim up procedure. All the modern parameters and one of the conventional tests (sperm motility) showed a significant difference between the two groups.