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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1998, p. 1630-1633, Vol. 36, No. 6
Department of Pathology,
Received 3 December 1997/Returned for modification 17 February
1998/Accepted 24 March 1998
The Abbott LCx ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay for the
simultaneous detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and
Neisseria gonorrhoeae was evaluated by using swab and urine
specimens from 562 patients. C. trachomatis results by LCR
were compared to those by the Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay, whereas N. gonorrhoeae results by LCR were compared to those by culture. The
Gen-Probe and LCR assays were performed according to the
manufacturers' instructions. Gram-negative diplococci growing on
modified Thayer-Martin medium were confirmed as N. gonorrhoeae by the GonoGen II assay. Supplemental data analysis was performed by major outer membrane protein PCR for C. trachomatis and probes for pilin gene detection for N. gonorrhoeae. A true-positive result for each pathogen was
defined as a positive result for all three or two of three assays.
Overall agreement among the six assays was 94.8%. C. trachomatis prevalence was 16.2%; N. gonorrhoeae prevalence was 5.5%. The overall sensitivity and
specificity, respectively, for each test (after supplemental data
analysis) were as follows: for C. trachomatis,
Gen-Probe, 65.9 and 100%; LCR on urine, 90.1 and 100%; LCR on
swab specimens, 96.7 and 100%; and for N. gonorrhoeae, culture, 80.6 and 100%; LCR on urine, 93.5 and
99.8%; and LCR on swab specimens, 96.8 and 100%. For women, the
N. gonorrhoeae culture was very insensitive compared to its performance in men (58.3 versus 94.7%, respectively). For C. trachomatis, the Gen-Probe assay's sensitivity was
lower for men than for women (62.3 versus 71.1%, respectively). The
sensitivity for C. trachomatis detection by LCR on
urethral and cervical swab specimens was 96.2 and 97.4% for men and
women, respectively. For men, swab results were slightly better than
urine results for both pathogens (sensitivity for C. trachomatis in swab and urine specimens, 96.2 and 92.5%,
respectively; sensitivity for N. gonorrhoeae in swab
and urine specimens, 100 and 94.7%, respectively), while for women,
cervical swabs were superior in sensitivity to urine samples for
detecting C. trachomatis (swab, 97.4%; urine, 81.6%)
and equivalent for N. gonorrhoeae (swab, 92.3%;
urine, 91.6%). The LCx LCR appears to be both sensitive and specific for the detection of C. trachomatis and
N. gonorrhoeae when performed on urine or genital
swab samples. Swab samples had better sensitivity than urine
samples for the detection of both pathogens.
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of the Abbott LCx Ligase Chain Reaction Assay for
Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria
gonorrhoeae in Urine and Genital Swab Specimens
from a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic Population
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Pathology 5C130 SOM, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, 50 N. Medical Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84132. Phone: (801) 585-5863. Fax: (801) 581-4517. E-mail:
Karen_Carroll{at}medschool.med.utah.edu.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1998, p. 1630-1633, Vol. 36, No. 6
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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