Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection using the BDProbeTec (TM) ETChlamydia trachomatis amplified DNA assay on urine in a GUM clinic setting: a simple, fast and cost-effective alternative

This study compared the BDProbeTec (TM) ET Chlamydia trachomatis amplified DNA assay on urine specimens with culture of genital swabs fur the detectio n of C. trachomatis in patients attending the Department of Genitourinary M edicine (GUM), Cardiff Royal Infirmary. Almost twice as many patients teste d positive by BDProbeTec (TM) ET than by culture. A similar difference was found for both males and females. The case notes of those patients positive by BDProbeTec (TM) ET alone were analysed and a significantly greater numb er were found to have risk indicators for C. trachomatis infection when com pared with age and sex comparable controls, providing clinical validation o f our findings. The BDProbeTec (TM) ET assay was easy to use, more importan tly, the test format features an internal control integral with every sampl e. The cost per true positive was calculated as comparable with culture. We conclude that the BDProbeTec (TM) ET assay is a superior alternative to cu lture for identifying patients infected with C. trachomatis in the GUM clin ic setting.