One hundred and sixty-eight cases of cervical conization were performed for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in a 32-month study. The indications for conization were unsatisfactory colposcopic finding, abnormal epithelium that extended into the endocervical canal, a microinvasive cervical cancer, and significant discrepancy among cytology, colposcopy, and/or punch biopsy histology. In t...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the newly developed ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens using cell culture and Amplicor PCR for comparison. SUBJECTS Two hundred and eighty patients attending hospital or urban STD clinics (high-risk population, 62 men and 84 women) and obstetric/gynaecology clinics (low-risk popul...

Isolation of Mycoplasma genitalium from clinical specimens remains difficult and few strains are available for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We describe the antimicrobial susceptibility of M. genitalium strains grown in Vero cell culture with first- and second- line antibiotics, using a modified cell-culture-based method. Macrolide- and -fluoroquinolone resistance determinants were dete...

The use of molecular methods for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis is increasing in clinical laboratories. External quality assessment enables unbiased monitoring of the performance of laboratories in the detection of specific pathogens. This study details the results of molecular and enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA) testing for C. trachomatis detection in simulated endocervical swab specimens...

OBJECTIVES To compare a new sampling device, a brush, Accellone-Multi-Instrument (AMI), with a dacron-tipped swab for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical specimens, and to evaluate if consecutive multiple cervical sampling as compared with such a single specimen would increase the sensitivity. METHODS 501 females attending an STD clinic and 172 females attending a family planni...

A randomized cross-over trial of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)-suppressive therapy (valacyclovir, 500 mg twice daily, or placebo for 8 weeks, a 2-week washout period, then the alternative therapy for 8 weeks) was conducted among 20 Peruvian women coinfected with HSV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) who were not on antiretroviral therapy. Plasma samples (obtained weekly) a...

OBJECTIVE To determine the extent to which testing of multiple sites and samples is required to define whether a woman is Chlamydia trachomatis-positive. DESIGN One-hundred and fifty women attending the Genitourinary Medicine clinic at St Mary's Hospital were enrolled; they had not received antichlamydial antibiotics in the previous three months, were not in a high-risk group for HIV infectio...

BACKGROUND The management of preinvasive cervical lesions has the objective to ensure the absence of invasive lesions and to prevent progression to cancer. Excisional procedures have been preferred to treat these lesions as they report the presence of unsuspected invasive lesions and the status of surgical margins, allowing inferring full excision when such are free of disease. The purpose of t...