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Basic & Translational Science

Category: Mycoplasma genitalium

(P241) Enhanced and prolonged performance by transcription-mediated amplification in comparison with real-time qPCR for detection of Mycoplasma genitalium in urine

Tuesday, July 25, 2023
16:00 – 18:00 CST
Background. Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) is a common causative pathogen of urethritis in males, and potentially associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and cervicitis in females. A recommended method for the detection of MG in urine includes the use of nucleic acid amplification tests, such as qPCR and the Aptima transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) assay. A limitation of TMA is the short time span of 24 hours in which the collected urine should be transferred into an Aptima Urine Specimen Transport Tube, according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. In our laboratory, urines received after >24 hours are tested using an in-house validated qPCR for MG detection, despite its lower sensitivity as compared with TMA. We aimed to compare the MG detection rate of TMA with qPCR after storage of urine samples at different temperatures overtime.

Methods. From June to December 2022, first-void urines from consecutive attendees at the clinic for sexual health in Amsterdam, the Netherlands were collected. Urine samples, with a known timepoint of collection, were concomitantly kept at refrigerator (4-8 °C) and room temperature (18- 24 °C) for 15 days. The stored urine samples were tested with both an in-house validated qPCR and MG Aptima TMA (Hologic Inc, San Diego, USA) after transfer of the original urine samples to Aptima collection tubes at 3, 7, 12 and 15 days post collection.

Results. In total, 47 MG-positive urine samples were collected, stored and tested at the different time points using qPCR and TMA. Molecular detection of MG showed a superior detection positivity rate by TMA compared with qPCR up to 15 days post collection (Figure 1). The temperature at which samples were stored between collection and testing did not have an effect on the molecular detection rate of MG, for neither qPCR and TMA methods.

Conclusion. We showed that the TMA assay was superior in detecting MG in urine compared with qPCR at all tested timepoints post sample collection. This indicates that urine samples older than 24 hours should preferably be tested using the MG-TMA assay up to 15 days after sample collection.