Screening for asymptomatic urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infection at a large Dublin maternity hospital: results of a pilot study

Background There are currently no Irish guidelines on screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in pregnancy. Prevalence rates in the antenatal population are not known which has prevented the development of screening recommendations for this group. Aims The objective of this study was to determ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Irish journal of medical science 2017-05, Vol.186 (2), p.393-397
Main Authors: O’Higgins, A. C., Jackson, V., Lawless, M., Le Blanc, D., Connolly, G., Drew, R., Eogan, M., Lambert, J. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Chlamydia Infections - diagnosis
Chlamydia Infections - epidemiology
Chlamydia trachomatis - isolation & purification
Family Medicine
Female
General Practice
Hospitals, Maternity
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Internal Medicine
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Article
Pilot Projects
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis
Prevalence
Young Adult
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Summary:Background There are currently no Irish guidelines on screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in pregnancy. Prevalence rates in the antenatal population are not known which has prevented the development of screening recommendations for this group. Aims The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic urogenital C. trachomatis infection in young women attending for care at a large maternity hospital. Methods All patients aged 25 years and under attending the Hospital between December 2011 and December 2013 were offered screening for urogenital C. trachomatis infection. Nucleic acid amplification testing of the C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid was performed on either endocervical swabs or first void urine samples. Results There were 2687 women tested for C. trachomatis infection, 83.4 % (2241/2687) through the antenatal clinics, 7.1 % (193/2687) through the gynaecology clinic, and 9.4 % (253/2687) through the emergency department. The rate of a positive test result was 5.6 % (151/2687) overall. The rates in women ages 16–18, 19–21 and 22–25 years were 9.1 % (31/340), 6.5 % (50/774) and 4.4 % (69/1561), respectively. A positive test result was more likely in those who were unemployed ( p  = 0.04), those who were Irish ( p  = 0.03) and those who were unmarried ( p  
ISSN:0021-1265
1863-4362
DOI:10.1007/s11845-016-1429-3