Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in women attending outpatient clinic in Lithuania

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is associated with a spectrum of diseases. The most well-known is the sexually transmitted disease (STD) commonly referred to as “chlamydia”. This pathogen causes genital tract infection in both men and women, leading to sometimes serious consequences such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain. Infection with C. trachomatis is often asymptomatic, delaying its diagnosis and treatment. The present study was initiated to determine the prevalence of sexually transmitted pathogen C. trachomatis in Lithuanian females. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determinate the incidence of C. trachomatis in asymptomatic women who attended the outpatient clinic, for their routine annual visit. Material and Methods: The study was carried out in Biomedical Research Centre using highly sensitive nucleic acid amplification technique where this method was successfully introduced in 2001. A total of 827 women were studied for presence of C. trachomatis by PCR method. The vaginal and/or cervical swabs specimens have been collected from each patient. DNA was extracted from clinical samples by using rapid in-house procedures. The presence C. trachomatis was determined by using in house PCR with specific primers. Five age groups were studied: group A – under 20 years (n = 46), group B – 21−30 years (n = 415), group C – 31−40 years (n = 205), group D – 41−50 years (n = 126), group E – 51−60 years (n = 35). Results: C. trachomatis infection was detected in 60 out of 833 samples (7.2%). The prevalence of C. trachomatis genital infection in the studied groups were: group A – 24.3% (46/9), group B – 8.6% (415/33), group C – 4.6% (205/9), group D – 6.8% (126/8), group E – 2.9% (35/1). Conclusion: The C. trachomatis infection is common and largely asymptomatic.[...]