Urogenital Infections: New Developments in Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment

The purpose of this annual symposium of the Eastern Pennsylvania Branch of the American Society for Microbiology was to organize a panel of scientists to review the many newer aspects of urogenital infections (UGI). From the onset it was recognized that the subject of UGI is a broad one and that it would not be possible to do justice to all aspects in a two day program. Therefore, it was agreed not to attempt an extensive review of the many recognized sexually transmitted diseases (STD), in that these have been the subject of other recent scientific symposia either individually or collectively. The major goal of this meeting was to review the many newer aspects of UGI relating to the pathogenesis of infections, newer treatment modalities, and newer approaches to the laboratory diagnosis of the respective diseases. The sessions were organized primarily along the lines of different etiologic agents of UGI. The opening session presented an overview of UGI, with major emphasis on new therapeutic modalities. This area has expanded greatly in recent years because of a better understanding of the etiology of such infections as well as the availability of newer effective chemothera­ peutic agents.