Chlamydia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Chlamydia, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, causes, problems.

Audit of treatment and contact-tracing rates in immediate (presumptive) versus delayed (polymerase chain reaction) diagnosis of chlamydial infection.

Fernando I, Clutterbuck DJ

Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Level 1, Lauriston Building, Lothian University Hospitals, Edinburgh EH3 9HA, Scotland, UK.

An audit of all cases of chlamydial infection diagnosed in men at the Edinburgh genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic over a six-month period from January 2003 is reported. In all, 189 men identified as requiring treatment for possible chlamydial infection on first attendance (because of contact with a partner with chlamydia or the diagnosis of non-gonococcal urethritis [NGU] on microscopy), who later proved chlamydia-positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were compared with 83 men in whom infection was identified only on receipt of a PCR result. Treatment rates were 100% in the first group and 97.6% in the second group (chi(2) 0.046, P<0.05). In men presumptively diagnosed and treated, 88.6% of contacts identified were confirmed as traced, compared with 90% confirmed as traced in the group diagnosed by PCR alone. Our audit suggests that identifying men with chlamydial NGU by routine microscopy may carry a small but significant advantage in increasing treatment rates, but makes no difference to contact-tracing success rate.

Published 11 July 2005 in Int J STD AIDS, 16(7): 502-3.
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