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. 1981 Nov;57(673):705–711. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.57.673.705

A microbiological study of non-gonococcal proctitis in passive male homosexuals

P E Munday, A P Johnson, B J Thomas, D J Jeffries, S G Dawson, M J Osborn, S Philip, J R W Harris, D Taylor-Robinson
PMCID: PMC2426199  PMID: 6803233

Abstract

In a study of 180 male homosexual patients attending a venereal disease clinic, a correlation was sought between symptoms and signs of proctitis and the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, group B streptococci, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and herpes simplex virus. Faecal specimens were examined for enteric pathogens and serological tests for hepatitis B virus, syphilitic and chlamydial infections were performed.

There was no association between proctitis, as diagnosed by examination of a Gram-stained rectal smear, and the isolation of any micro-organism or detection of a positive serological test. There was, in addition, no association between any symptom or abnormal physical sign and any positive microbiological findings. Since 23% of patients from whom N. gonorrhoeae was isolated had no abnormal physical signs, it is difficult to assign a pathogenic role to other micro-organisms isolated from patients with and without clinical signs of proctitis. Approaches to further investigation of the problem are discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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