Comparison of nested and ELISA based polymerase chain reaction assays for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis in pregnant women with preterm complications

摘要

Identification of pregnant women infected with Chlamydia trachomatis is essentialto allow early antibiotic treatment in order to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes. In thisstudy, two nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) namely nested PCR (BioSewoom, Korea)and Amplicor CT/NG (Roche Diagnostic, USA) were evaluated in terms of sensitivity andspecificity for the detection of C. trachomatis DNA in pregnant women with pretermcomplications. A cross-sectional study was carried out in two public hospitals in SouthernSelangor, Malaysia. Endocervical swabs obtained were subjected to DNA amplification usingnested PCR (BioSewoom, Korea) and Amplicor CT/NG (Roche Diagnostic, USA). A total of 83endocervical swabs obtained from pregnant women of less than 37 weeks gestation andpresented with preterm complications were subjected to chlamydial DNA detection usingboth assays. The study shows that Amplicor CT/NG assay is more effective in the detectionof C. trachomatis DNA from endocervical swabs compared to Biosewoom nested PCR kit.Agreement between the two assays were poor (kappa=0.094) with nested PCR showing alow sensitivity of 10.81% and a 97.83% specificity when compared to Amplicor CT/NG. Theresults obtained indicated that BioSewoom nested PCR was less sensitive than Amplicor CT/NG for detecting C. trachomatis in endocervical specimens and that another more reliabletest is required for confirmatory result.