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Pseudospirochaetosis of the urinary bladder

¹ Department of Urology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UY, UK
² Department of Histopathology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust

Correspondence to:
Mr S V Chitale
Department of Urology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UY, UK; chitalenorwich{at}aol.com
ABSTRACT
This report describes an elderly patient with urinary symptoms who showed surface colonisation of the transitional mucosa of the bladder by an unusual haematoxophilic microorganism superficially resembling the "blue fuzz" seen in colonic biopsies showing intestinal spirochaetosis. Special stains showed that the organisms were Gram and Giemsa positive, weakly argyrophilic, and Ziehl-Nielsen negative. Immunostains were negative for Helicobacter pylori and electron microscopy revealed curious curved bodies, which were difficult to classify. Therefore, this condition was described as pseudospirochaetosis of the urinary bladder. The urinary symptoms regressed on treatment with ciprofloxacin. The clinicopathological relevance of these findings is discussed in the report.

Abbreviations: EM, electron microscopy; HIS, human intestinal spirochaetosis

Keywords: lower urinary tract symptoms; pseudospirochaetosis; spirochaetes; urinary tract infection