Triple-culture Tests for Diagnosis of Chlamydial Infection of the Female Genital Tract

Abstract

By use of triple-culture tests of each site, Chlamyida trachomatis was isolated from 112 women: from cervical material from 110, urethral material from 32, and rectal material from 19. Triple swabs provided 89 (81%) of 110 diagnoses of cervical infection; the 1st swab yielded 65 (59%), the 2nd an additional 15 (14%), and the 3rd an additional 9 (8%). Three sets of cervical scrapings provided 102 (93%) of 110 diagnoses of cervical infections; the 1st scrapings yielded 76 (69%), the 2nd an additional 22 (20%), and the 3rd another 4 (4%). Of 32 women with positive urethral cultures, the 1st swab was positive in 28 (88%), and the 2nd was positive in the remaining 4. Of 19 women with positive rectal cultures, the 1st swab yielded 11 (58%), the 2nd an additional 5 (26%), and the 3rd an additional 3 (16%). The results show that positive culture results obtained by use of a single swab underestimate the prevalence of chlamydial infection.