Diagnostics within the clinic to test for gonorrhoea and chlamydia reduces the time to treatment: A service evaluation

摘要

Rapid on-site diagnostics permit prompt recognition and treatment of infections. We introduced the GeneXpert system (Cepheid, California, USA) within 56 Dean Street, a central London sexual health clinic. The machine processes Cblamydia tracbomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrboeae (NG) samples in 90 min by real-time PCR.We present the results of the service evaluation of a pilot where GeneXpert was used to process samples from individuals attending outreach or specialised clinics. Asymptomatic attenders whose samples were processed using the GeneXpert system were compared with asymptomatic 'standard of care' users attending 56 Dean Street whose samples were analysed offsite in the hospital laboratory. All patients with a positive GeneXpert NG and/or CT result were matched with a control with the same infection diagnosed and date of attendance.