[Isolation of Haemophilus no ducreyi in samples from the genital tract of men: Its clinical relationship]

Abstract

Introduction: With the advancement of microbiological methods, the isolation of less typical pathogens in cases of urethral and rectal infection is more frequent, apart from the classic etiological agents. One of them is formed by species of Haemophilus no ducreyi (HND). The objective of this work is to describe frequency, susceptibility to antibiotics, and clinical features of HDN urethritis and proctitis in adult males.

Patients and methods: This is an observational retrospective descriptive study of the results obtained by the Microbiology laboratory of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital on the isolates of HND in genital and rectal samples from males between 2016 and 2019.

Results: HND was isolated in 135 (7%) of the genital infection episodes diagnosed in men. H. parainfluenzae was the most commonly isolated (34/45; 75.6%). The most frequent symptoms in men with proctitis were rectal tenesmus (31.6%) and lymphadenopathy (10.5%); in those with urethritis, dysuria (71.6%), urethral suppuration (46.7%) and gland lesions (27%), so differentiating it from infections caused by other genitopathogens is difficult. 43% of patients were HIV positive. Antibiotic resistance rates for H. parainfluenzae were high to quinolons, ampicillin, tetracycline and macrolides.

Conclusion: HND species should be considered as possible etiologic agents in episodes of urethral and rectal infection in men, especially in cases with negative screening tests for agents that cause sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Its microbiological identification is essential for the establishment of an effective targeted treatment.

Keywords: Genital infection; Haemophilus; Infección genital; Men; Varones.