Polymerase chain reaction is no better than Gram stain for diagnosis of gonococcal urethritis.

Sir, Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea are the leading reportable causes for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States.[1,2] In UK, gonorrheal disease is considered the second most common sexually transmitted infection of bacterial origin.[3] In France, the average number of Neisseria gonorrhea isolated per laboratory per year decreased from 10.6 in 1986 to 0.6 in 1997, but then increased yearly to reach 1.9 in 2000.[4] Also, gonococcal and nongonococcal urethritis are the most commonly reported STDs in China since the re-emergence of STDs in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.[5]