Abstract
Endocervical swabs from 137 asymptomatic girls 12–18 years of age (mean 16.1 years) were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis using a direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) slide test (MicroTrak, Syva Co., Palo Alto, CA) and compared with the tissue culture isolation of the organism. The DFA slides were examined for quality of the specimen as well as for the presence of elementary bodies. Of 137 slides, 5 (3.6%) were “poor” (less than 50 epithelial cells per well) and were excluded from the analysis. The DFA test identified 26 (89.7%) of 29 culture-positive specimens and 102 (99.0%) of 103 culture-negative specimens. The DFA test is a valuable screening tool (positive predictive value 96.30%, negative predictive value 97.14%) for identification of asymptomatic chlamydial cervical infection in adolescents when slides are interpreted for adequacy of the specimen as well as the presence of elementary bodies.
Published Version
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