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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2000, p. 2512-2515, Vol. 38, No. 7
Département de Microbiologie et
Immunologie, Université de
Montréal,1 Département de
Microbiologie Médicale et Infectiologie, Centre Hospitalier de
l'Université de Montréal,2
Department of Oncology, McGill
University,3 and Centre de Recherche
du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de
Montréal,4 Montréal, Québec,
Canada
Received 29 November 1999/Returned for modification 11 March
2000/Accepted 13 April 2000
We assessed the quality of genital samples submitted for
Chlamydia trachomatis detection by PCR by a second PCR
assay for the presence of human
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
An Important Proportion of Genital Samples
Submitted for Chlamydia trachomatis Detection by PCR Contain
Small Amounts of Cellular DNA as Measured by
-Globin Gene
Amplification
-globin DNA. Endocervical and
urethral samples were first tested by the COBAS AMPLICOR C. trachomatis assay (Roche Diagnostic Systems) with an internal
control and were then amplified for the presence of
-globin DNA with
primers PC04 and GH20. Samples that contained inhibitors were retested after dilution 1:10. A total of 407 genital samples (311 endocervical swabs from 311 women and 96 urethral swabs from 95 men and 1 woman) collected over a 1-month period were evaluated. The internal control could not be amplified, despite dilution, from 3 of 23 samples that
were retested after dilution because of inhibition, leaving 404 samples
that could be analyzed by PCR. Eleven samples tested positive for
C. trachomatis. Thirty (7.4%) of the 404 samples were
negative for
-globin. Twelve of the 23 undiluted samples that
contained inhibitors tested positive for
-globin DNA. Amplification of
-globin DNA in samples submitted for C. trachomatis
detection by the COBAS AMPLICOR C. trachomatis assay
demonstrated that an important proportion of the samples did not
contain cellular DNA. Assessment of the quality of the samples for PCR
analysis by
-globin amplification is feasible but cannot replace use
of the internal control.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address:
Département de Microbiologie Médicale et Infectiologie,
Hôpital Notre-Dame du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université
de Montréal, 1560 Sherbrooke est, Montréal, Québec,
Canada H2L 4M1. Phone: 514-281-6000, ext. 5103. Fax: 514-896-4607. E-mail: francois.coutlee{at}ssss.gouv.qc.ca.
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