Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis Infections by Direct Immunofluorescence Staining of Genital Secretions
A Multicenter Trial
- WALTER E. STAMM, M.D.;
- ROBERT H. HARRISON, D. Phil., M.D., M.P.H.;
- E. RUSSELL ALEXANDER, M.D.;
- LINDA D. CLES, B.S.;
- MICHAEL R. SPENCE, M.D., M.P.H.; and
- THOMAS C. QUINN, M.D.
Abstract
Because few clinicians have access to laboratories offering cell culture confirmation of suspected Chlamydia trachomatis genital infections, we evaluated a diagnostic method in which fluorescein-conjugated monoclonal antibodies were used to directly identify C. trachomatis elementary bodies in slides made from genital secretions. Compared with culture results, the direct smear had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 96% in 576 men, most of whom had symptoms and signs of urethritis. Among 595 women attending the same clinics, sensitivity of the direct smear for cervical infection was 89% and specificity was 99%. In 225 pregnant women screened in a prenatal or abortion clinic, the sensitivity and specificity of the test were 86% and 99% respectively. Direct detection of elementary bodies in genital smears offers an alternative diagnostic approach for C. trachomatis infections.
Article and Author Information
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▸From the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona School of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona; Departments of Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; and the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Grant support: in part by grant A1 12192 from the National Institutes of Health, and a grant from SYVA Corporation. Palo Alto, California.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Walter E. Stamm, M.D.; Department of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, 325 9th Avenue 2A-89; Seattle, WA 98104.
- ©1984 American College of Physicians
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