美发现口腔感染可能导致子宫感染

 
 
根据一项最新研究发现，口腔中的细菌能够出现在子宫中，导致子宫感染从而引起早产。

在美国Case Western保留地大学(Cleveland, Ohio, USA)研究人员开展的研究中，从19例因为早产或者高危早产而接受跨腹膜检查的孕妇中，收集了羊谁、血液、阴道拭子和口腔拭子标本。使用PCR和核酸测序方法检测了这些样本的细菌DNA。

在所有14例被检测患者的口腔中发现了一种尚未被命名的细菌，但是只有一例子宫感染的羊水中发现了这种细菌。该患者随后由于感染而分娩，在怀孕24周就分娩了婴儿。对她胎盘的检查结果发现了严重而弥散的绒膜羊膜炎和胎儿血管炎，累及了脐带和胎盘，这被推测这是导致早产的原因。但是在阴道拭子中没有发现推测可能出现的细菌。该结果证实了一些科学家的怀疑：宫内感染并不总是来自生殖道“上行”的细菌，同样可以来自口腔“下行”的细菌。该研究结果发表在2006年4月的《临床微生物学》期刊之上。
 
Oral Bacteria May Cause Uterine Infections
 
Bacteria in the mouth may find their way to the uterus, causing uterine infections that can lead to preterm birth in pregnant women, according to a new study.

In a study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio, USA), amniotic fluid, blood samples, vaginal swabs, and oral swabs were collected from 19 pregnant women who were undergoing transabdominal amniocentesis because of preterm labor or threatened preterm labor. The samples were analyzed for bacterial DNA via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nucleotide sequencing.

An as yet unnamed species of the bacterium genus Bergeyella was detected in the mouths of all 14 women tested, but in the amniotic fluid of only one patient with a uterine infection. That patient subsequently went into labor, induced by the infection, and delivered her baby at 24 weeks' gestation. Analysis of her placenta revealed severe and diffused chorioamnionitis and fetal vasculitis involving the umbilical cord and chorionic plate, which were the presumed cause of her preterm labor. However, the bacterium was not detected in the vaginal swab, as might be expected. The finding confirmed what some scientists have suspected: that intrauterine infections don't always "ascend" from the genital tract but can "descend" from the oral cavity. The study was published in the April 2006

issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.