Abstract

Objective To investigate the prevalence of neonatal conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and to evaluate two methods of detecting Chlamydia (C.) trachomatis in neonatal conjunctival specimens. Methods A total of 125 conjunctival scrapings taken from neonates with conjunctivitis in Children's Hospital during October 1997-September 1998 was tested by the McCoy cell culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) . Results The detection rates of C. trachomatis in neonatal conjunctivitis were 41.6% by cell culture and 51.2% by PCR, respectively. The sensitivities of cell culture and PCR were 81.3% and 94.2%, respectively. The prevalence of C. trachomatis conjunctivitis was obviously higher in neonates delivered through vagina than those by cesarean section delivery (74% and 9% , respectively, P < 0.01) . Conclusion C. trachomatis was the main pathogenic microorganism of neonatal conjunctivitis in Children's Hospital during the year 1997 to 1998 (51.2%) . The C. trachomatis infection in neonates related to the delivery mode, espevially the passage through the birth canal, but sometimes may be caused by the intrauterine infection. PCR showed more sensitive than the cell culture in the detection of C. trachomatis. Key words: Chlamydia trachomatis; Infant, newborn; Conjunctivitis, bacterial; Cells, cultured; Polymerase chain reaction

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