Case reports and literature Review: A concern in transplant patients- Extraurogenital infection by Mycoplasma hominis

Abstract

Abstract Mycoplasma hominis, a facultative organism, is a part of the normal flora of the urogenital tract and is rarely reported as a concern in extragenital tract infection. Mycoplasma species are slow-growing organisms and unlike Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, Mycoplasmas lack a peptidoglycan cell wall and require special media for growth, collectively these characteristics present a challenge in diagnostic microbiology to identify M. hominis in clinical specimens. Although previous studies have reported the presence of M. hominis in immunosuppressive patients, the current guidelines for diagnostic laboratories to rule out Mycoplasma species in specimens from transplant patients remain elusive. We present two cases of patients with bilateral lung and heart transplants who developed mycoplasma infection due to M. hominis. Understanding the presence of the organism in the clinical specimen can help in the early detection of the pathogen and will result in optimal clinical outcomes in a susceptible population.