Response to 'Comparative performance of culture using swabs transported in Amies medium and the Aptima Combo 2 nucleic acid amplification test in detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from genital and extra-genital sites: a retrospective study'.

摘要

The recent article in Sexually Transmitted Infections by Harryman et al1 assessed the performance of Aptima Combo 2 (AC2) confirmed by Aptima GC (AGC) versus culture and concluded that AC2 with AGC confirmation performed well at genital and extra-genital sites for detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC). Culture with transport swabs was found to perform poorly for asymptomatic men, symptomatic and asymptomatic women and at extra-genital sites. The authors conclude that consideration should be given on how best to optimise GC culture in settings where direct plating is not feasible.We strongly agree with them and are pleased to find the accumulating evidence for the performance benefits of AC2 confirmed with AGC. They mentioned that studies by Moss et al2 and Lavelle et al3 concluded that AC2 GC positives were likely to be true positives based on culture and partner data, but point out that both studies confirmed their positives only by repeating the same assay.