Arévalo F, Rayme S, Zurita F, Ramírez R, Franco D, Montes P, Fustamante J, Monge E. Immunohistochemical detection of chlamydia trachomatis in sexually transmitted infectious proctitis.
BMC Gastroenterol 2022;
22:171. [PMID:
35395750 PMCID:
PMC8991980 DOI:
10.1186/s12876-022-02233-w]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Since 2003, a progressive increase in sexually transmitted infections (STI), presented as proctitis, has been described in homosexual men. In 2013 Arnold et al. described microscopic features that enable pathologists to formulate a histological diagnosis of STI related proctitis. The aim of this study is to identify the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis by immunohistochemistry in a group of patients with male to male sexual activity and pathology compatible with STI proctitis.
Methods
Cross-sectional study. The study included 54 patients with risky sexual activity and histopathology compatible with STI-proctitis according to Arnold´s recommendations. The Chlamydia trachomatis identification was carried out retrospectively on paraffin blocks using mouse monoclonal antibodies from Santa Cruz biotechnology.
Results
all patients were young men with male to male sexual activity, 69% were positive for HIV. The most common endoscopic presentation was rectal ulcer (61%). Basal lymphoplasmacytic inflammation and mild crypt distortion were the most common histological findings. The immunohistochemical study identified positivity for Chlamydia trachomatis in 40% (18 of 45 tested) of STI proctitis cases.
Discussion
The epidemiological and endoscopic characteristics of the patients studied are similar to those previously reported. In accordance with Arnold et al., the most common histological findings were (a) mild distortion of the crypts; (b) dense and basal lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate and (c) scarcity of eosinophils. The positivity of chlamydia trachomatis in immunohistochemistry was lower than others studies that used PCR for this purpose. We did not find similar published studies to compare our results.
Conclusions
In summary, 54 cases of patients with STI related proctitis are presented, all of them with distinctive histological characteristics and third of the cases tested positive by IHC for Chlamydia trachomatis.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02233-w.
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