Urine-based screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics

Background: Nucleic acid-amplified tests for Chlamydia trachomatis are accu rate but costly. Screening strategies for asymptomatic men are needed. Goal: To assess C trachomatis screening strategies for asymptomatic males. Study Design: Men attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic were test ed for C trachomatis with ligase chain reaction and culture, and for urethr al inflammation with urine leukocyte esterase and urethral Gram stain. Results: C trachomatis prevalence was 5.5% among 1,625 asymptomatic men. Li gase chain reaction increased detection by 49% among men without urethral i nflammation. An age of younger than 25 years and urethral inflammation were associated with positive ligase chain reaction results. The negative predi ctive value of urine leukocyte esterase was highest among older men, but ur ethral Gram stain was equally sensitive in predicting infection regardless of age, An age of younger than 30 years or urethral inflammation identified the highest proportion of infections (92%) and reduced the percentage of m en screened by 43%. Conclusions: Urine ligase chain reaction increased C trachomatis detection, particularly among men without urethral inflammation, Testing all asymptom atic men younger than 30 years is optimal, whereas negative urine leukocyte esterase or urethral Gram stain results in men 30 years or older support n o testing.