DIAGNOSIS OF GENITAL CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS INFECTIONS IN ASYMPTOMATICMALES BY TESTING URINE BY PCR

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) (MikroTrak; Syva) was compa red with PCR (Amplicor; Roche) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in first-void urine (FVU) Com 184 men attending a skin and venereal di sease clinic. The prevalence of C. trachomatis in the population studi ed was 18.5%. Discrepant results between Syva EIA and Roche PCR were r etested by using major outer membrane protein primer-based PCR. After retesting, the sensitivity, the specificity, and the positive and nega tive predictive values for the Syva EIA were 85.3, 100, 100, and 77.5% , respectively, and those for the Roche PCR 100, 100, 100, and 100%, r espectively. It was concluded that PCR provides a highly sensitive and specific noninvasive screening method for genital chlamydial infectio n in asymptomatic men.