IMPACT OF VARIATION IN ENDOCERVICAL SPECIMEN COLLECTION AND TESTING TECHNIQUES ON FREQUENCY OF FALSE-POSITIVE AND FALSE-NEGATIVE CHLAMYDIA DETECTION RESULTS
Ja. Kellogg, IMPACT OF VARIATION IN ENDOCERVICAL SPECIMEN COLLECTION AND TESTING TECHNIQUES ON FREQUENCY OF FALSE-POSITIVE AND FALSE-NEGATIVE CHLAMYDIA DETECTION RESULTS, American journal of clinical pathology, 104(5), 1995, pp. 554-559
Rapid tests for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis are considerably mo
re likely to provide accurate, reliable results if high quality endoce
rvical specimens containing large quantities of the pathogen are submi
tted for testing, and if laboratories routinely detect and confirm Chl
amydia at levels below the test manufacturer's recommended cut-off usi
ng previously published, well-documented guidelines that have been ver
ified by in-house testing. Routine or periodic microscopic analysis of
endocervical specimen quality may be necessary both to ensure the ade
quacy of specimens and to help motivate personnel performing the speci
men collection procedures. False-positive test results can be signific
antly reduced or eliminated by confirming positive results with the us
e of an independent assay. Clinical laboratories currently have the op
portunity to substantially improve both the sensitivity and the specif
icity of many currently available rapid assays for the detection of Ch
lamydia trachomatis.