Assessment of Chlamydia trachomatis prevalence by cell culture and transcription-mediated amplification in symptomatic women

Objective: The frequency of Chlamydia trachomatis in women with mucopurulent discharge was determined by a cell culture technique and a transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) assay in endocervical swab specimens. Subjects and Methods: Endocervical swab specimens were obtained from 116 symptomatic patients with genitourinary complaints or abdominal pain. All of the women were married, with an age range of between 19 and 44 (median 29) years. The cell culture assay was used in all specimens. For 75 specimens the TMA assay was also performed. Results: Positive cell culture test results were obtained in 6 (5.2%) patients. Among 75 specimens, 2 were positive by both TMA and culture assays, while 1 specimen was positive only by the culture assay. Of those positive for C. trachomatis, 5 were in the 19- to 25-year age group, and 1 was in the >25-year age group. All of the patients with positive results were of low socioeconomic status. Conclusions: This study revealed a relatively low rate of C. trachomatis infections in symptomatic married women in Turkey. A commercial TMA assay failed to identfy all positive patients, in contrast to a 'gold standard' culture assay used in patients having such infections. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.