This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kapala, J.
Right arrow Articles by Chernesky, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kapala, J.
Right arrow Articles by Chernesky, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2000, p. 2480-2483, Vol. 38, No. 7
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Pooling Cervical Swabs and Testing by Ligase Chain Reaction Are Accurate and Cost-Saving Strategies for Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis

J. Kapala,1,* D. Copes,2 A. Sproston,1 J. Patel,1 D. Jang,3 A. Petrich,3 J. Mahony,3 K. Biers,1 and M. Chernesky3

Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories, Brampton,1 Choice in Health Clinic, Toronto,2 and Regional Virology and Chlamydiology Laboratory, St. Joseph's Hospital, McMaster University, Hamilton,3 Ontario, Canada

Received 5 January 2000/Returned for modification 24 March 2000/Accepted 21 April 2000

Specimen pooling to achieve efficiency when testing urine specimens for Chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acids has been suggested. We pooled endocervical swabs from 1,288 women and also tested individual swabs by ligase chain reaction (LCR). Out of 53 positive specimens, pools of 4 or 8 specimens missed two positives, providing 96.2% accuracy compared to individual test results. Dilution and positive-control spiking experiments showed that negative specimens with inhibitors of LCR in the pool reduced the signal. Conversely, two extra positives, detected only through pooling, were negative by individual testing but became positive after storage, suggesting that fresh positive specimens with labile inhibitors may be positive in a pool because of dilution of inhibitors. For this population of women with a 4% prevalence of C. trachomatis infection, substantial savings in cost of reagents (55 to 63%) and technologist time (50 to 63%) made pooling strategies a desirable alternative to individual testing.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories, 115 Midair Court, Brampton, Ontario L6T 5M3, Canada. Phone: (800) 668-2714 or (905) 790-3000. Fax: (905) 790-9331. E-mail: chernesk{at}fhs.mcmaster.ca.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2000, p. 2480-2483, Vol. 38, No. 7
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Lindan, C., Mathur, M., Kumta, S., Jerajani, H., Gogate, A., Schachter, J., Moncada, J. (2005). Utility of Pooled Urine Specimens for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Men Attending Public Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Mumbai, India, by PCR. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 1674-1677 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Currie, M. J., McNiven, M., Yee, T., Schiemer, U., Bowden, F. J. (2004). Pooling of Clinical Specimens Prior to Testing for Chlamydia trachomatis by PCR Is Accurate and Cost Saving. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4866-4867 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chernesky, M A (2002). Chlamydia trachomatis diagnostics. Sex. Transm. Infect. 78: 232-234 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Loeffelholz, M. J., Jirsa, S. J., Teske, R. K., Woods, J. N. (2001). Effect of Endocervical Specimen Adequacy on Ligase Chain Reaction Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 3838-3841 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Battle, T. J., Golden, M. R., Suchland, K. L., Counts, J. M., Hughes, J. P., Stamm, W. E., Holmes, K. K. (2001). Evaluation of Laboratory Testing Methods for Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in the Era of Nucleic Acid Amplification. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 2924-2927 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Morre, S. A., van Dijk, R., Meijer, C. J. L. M., van den Brule, A. J. C., Kjaer, S. K., Munk, C. (2001). Pooling Cervical Swabs for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by PCR: Sensitivity, Dilution, Inhibition, and Cost-Saving Aspects. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 2375-2376 [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»