Rapid presumptive diagnosis of gonococcal urethritis in men by the limulus lysate test.

Abstract

In an elevaluation of the limulus assay as a method for detecting endotoxin in urethral exudates, positive results for urethral samples at a 1/200 dilution were obtained from 73 of 73 patients with culture-positive gonococcal urethritis while negative results were obtained from 26 of 27 patients with culture-negative urethral specimens. A specimen from 1 patient, which gave negative results on Gram stain and culture, gave positive results to the Limulus test. The overall accuracy of the Limulus test for predicting culture results was 99% (P < 0.001). In preliminary studies of otherwise healthy men, the results of the Limulus assay correlated with those of biological methods for diagnosing urethral gonorrhea; the test may be of use in identifying cases of non-gonococcal urethritis.