Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by the Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Cervice of Women with Genital Tract Infecion

Chun, Sun Hee

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the diagnostic value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as opposed to Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) of Chlamydia trachomatis in cervices of women with genital tract infection.
METHODS
Sixty three samples (60 cervical samples and 3 pelvic abscess samples) from sixty women with genital tract infection or lesions such as vaginits, cervicitis, cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN), condyloma accuminata, tuboovarian abscess, preterm labor and premature repture of membranes were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis with PCR and EIA simultaneously. The primers for PCR were for 478 base pairs encoding Chlamydia cryptic plasmid gene
RESULTS
Six cases (seven samples) (10%) out of 60 women were positive on PCR while one case (1.7%) was positive on EIA among these women. The positive rate of PCR Chlamydia test according to the diagnosis was as followings; 3 out of 19 cases (15.8%) of cervicitis, 2 out of 5 cases (40%) of CIN, 1 out of 3 cases (33.3%), ol tuboovarian abscess and 1 out of 7 cases (14, 3%) of preterm premature rupture of membranes showed positive Chlamydia test.
CONCLUSIONS
Diagnostic testing of Chlamydia using PCR showed more sensitive for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis compared with EIA in women with genital tract infection. So Chlamydia PCR test is suggested to be valuable in appropriate treatment and prevention of Chlamydia infection especially in women with cervical lesions and pelvic inflammatory disease.