Clearview Chlamydia (Unipath) is a rapid monoclonal antibody based latex immunodiffusion test for detecting chlamydial antigen in endocervical specimens. The assay does not require specialised equipment or extensive training and takes less than 30 minutes from sample to results. The clinical performance of Clearview Chlamydia was evaluated with 478 paired endocervical swabs from patients attend...

AIMS To test the hypothesis that absence of squamous cells in cervical smears obtained by an endocervical sampling technique is more prominent in patients with a cervical ectropion. METHODS Prospective study exploring the relation between the composition of cervical smears obtained using an endocervical cotton swab in patients with (n = 188) and without (n = 341) a cervical ectropion. Subject...

Screening for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in a greater proportion of sexually active patients has become an accepted protocol by most health care providers. The purpose of this study was to compare the current test methods for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis used at the University of South Alabama, the PACE 2 assay (Gen-Probe) and the Clearview EIA (Wampole Laboratories), with two a...

The diagnostic performance of a PCR test (Roche Cobas Amplicor CT/NG Test) and that of a ligase chain reaction (LCR) test (Abbott LCx Chlamydia trachomatis assay) were compared by using endocervical and urethral swab specimen culture as a reference test. First-void urine (FVU) and endocervical and urethral swab specimens were collected from 1,015 unselected patients attending a sexually transmi...

OBJECTIVE To assess sexually active adolescents' attitudes toward 3 screening collection techniques for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis using first-void urine (FVU), self-collected vaginal swab specimens, and pelvic examination with clinician-collected endocervical swab specimens. DESIGN Participants completed a preexamination health survey...

an amplification polymerase chain reaction (pcr) test for the direct detection of chlamydia trachomatis in urethral and endocervical swab specimens from symptomatic and asymptomatic women and men were compared to standard culture technique. during 6 months, 300 endocervical swab specimens from 205 asymptomatic women (64.4%) and 95 symptomatic women (31.6%), and 187 urethral swab specimens from ...

BACKGROUND Cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screening is an effective method of detecting cytological changes in the cervix before they lead to cervical cancer. However, the quality of a Pap smear can be compromised by inflammatory exudate, inadequate cellularity or failure to sample the transformation zone. We evaluated the effect of routine cervical cleaning on Pap smear quality. METHODS I...

We compared two different methods of collecting endocervical samples for examination by direct immunofluorescence for Chlamydia trachomatis. A cervical Cytobrush gave better results than a dacron swab. Further studies should be performed to assess the value of alternative sampling methods to detect this organism.

OBJECTIVES To determine the usefulness of endocervical discharge opacity as a risk indicator for chlamydial infection in relation to two acknowledged visual indicators--yellow endocervical discharge and easily induced mucosal bleeding of the cervix. METHODS Women from two family planning clinics, a therapeutic abortion clinic, and a university student health clinic (n = 1418 total) consented ...

Chlamydiae are now commonly detected in genital tract specimens in routine diagnosis by direct immunofluorescence. Direct immunofluorescence is as sensitive and specific as conventional culture.' Studies in our laboratory also suggest that direct immunofluorescence may be a valuable test for cure.2 One of the problems encountered with direct immunofluorescence, as with culture, is the need for ...