Asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis infection and predictive criteria among low-risk women in a primary care setting

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and predictors of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among young adult low-risk women attending either of two inner-city family planning clinics in Trabzon, the most densely populated city in Turkey's Black Sea region. The study group comprised 150 sexually active women attending either of two family planning clinics. Two endocervical swabs were collected from each woman and tested for the presence of C. trachomatis by tissue culture and a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associations of clinical factors for predicting C. trachomatis infection. C. trachomatis was detected in 19 of the samples (12.7%) by cell culture and in 15 (9.9%) by ELISA. None of the demographic characteristics could be associated with the state of infection, but the women preferring the withdrawal method for contraception accounted for a significantly higher percentage of the C. trachomatis-positive cases than women who used other contraceptive methods. The most frequent signs of cervical infection were vaginal discharge (RR = 4.86, 95% CI 1.60 and 14.79, P = 0.005) and cervical erosion (RR = 3.26, 95% CI 0.97 and 10.90, P = 0.056).