DETECTION OF CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS IN SEMEN BY ANTIBODY-ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY COMPARED WITH POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION, ANTIGEN-ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY, AND URETHRAL CELL-CULTURE

Objective: To compare the results obtained by four different technique s for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in the male genital tract . Design: Prospective study. Setting: Andrology unit of a university h ospital. Patients: Male infertility patients. Interventions: Analysis of semen samples and urethral swabs for the presence of C. trachomatis by recombinant antibody-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (rELISA), p olymerase chain reaction (PCR), antigen-enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and M cCoy cell culture. Main Outcome Measure: Detection of C. trachomatis. Results: In 57 of 205 semen samples (27.8%) immunoglobulin A-antibodie s against C. trachomatis were found. In contrast, only 1 of 56 semen s amples (1.8%) was positive for C. trachomatis-DNA by PCR, only 1 of 13 9 semen samples (0.7%) was positive by antigen-EIA, and only 4 of 173 urethral swabs (2.3%) grew C. trachomatis in cell culture. Conclusions : The discrepancy of positive results found by the antibody-rELISA and direct methods for the detection of C. trachomatis indicates successf ul eradication of the microorganism in >90% of antibody-positive men, Therefore, detection of antibodies against C. trachomatis in seminal p lasma appears to be of limited diagnostic value.