Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36190130›Full record

ArticlemBio2022

The Urethral Microbiota of Men with and without Idiopathic Urethritis.

Erica L Plummer, Larissa K Ratten, Lenka A Vodstrcil, Gerald L Murray, Jennifer A Danielewski, Christopher K Fairley, Suzanne M Garland, Eric P F Chow, Catriona S Bradshaw

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in mBio, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. German evidence- and consensus-based guideline on the management of penile urethritis.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2025
    Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Bacterial vaginosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
  5. Comparison of the urinary microbiome in men who have sex with men with and without Chlamydia trachomatis infection.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Human Male Genital Tract Microbiota.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Erica L PlummerCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5710-2671
Larissa K RattenCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.
Lenka A VodstrcilCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.
Gerald L MurrayMolecular Microbiology Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3330-4433
Jennifer A DanielewskiMolecular Microbiology Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Christopher K FairleyCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.
Suzanne M GarlandMolecular Microbiology Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Eric P F ChowCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1766-0657
Catriona S BradshawCentral Clinical School, Monash Universitygrid.1002.3, Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre · AURoyal Women's Hospital · AUThe University of Melbourne · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common genital tract syndrome in men, and up to 50% of cases are considered idiopathic, i.e., no etiological agent is identified. This poses challenges for clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of NGU and often results in antibiotic misuse and overuse. Therefore, to identify potential infectious causes of urethritis and inform clinical management of urethritis cases, we characterized and compared the urethral microbiota of men with and without idiopathic urethritis. Participants were derived from a case-control study that examined viral and bacterial pathogens and sexual practices associated with NGU. Men with NGU who tested negative for established causes of NGU (Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Trichomonas vaginalis, adenoviruses, herpes simplex virus [HSV]-1, and/or HSV-2) were classified as idiopathic cases, and the controls were men reporting no current urethral symptoms. Men provided a urine sample that was used to characterize the urethral microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Bacterial taxa associated with idiopathic urethritis were identified using analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction. When stratified by sex of sexual partner, we found that the abundance of Haemophilus influenzae was significantly increased in men who have sex with men with idiopathic urethritis, and the abundance of Corynebacterium was significantly increased in men who have sex with women with idiopathic urethritis. Other taxa, including Ureaplasma, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia, and Streptococcus pneumoniae

Indexed as

Herpesvirus 1, HumanMicrobiotaMycoplasma genitaliumSexual and Gender MinoritiesUrethritisAnti-Bacterial AgentsCase-Control StudiesChlamydia trachomatisFemaleHomosexuality, MaleHumansMaleRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAnti-Bacterial AgentsRNA, Ribosomal, 16SCorynebacteriumHaemophilus influenzaeidiopathic urethritisnongonococcal urethritissexually transmitted diseasesurethral microbiomeurethral microbiota

Identifiers

PMID36190130
PMCPMC9600694
OpenAlexW4300689786

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.