Genital Chlamydia trachomatis: detection, treatment and patient education

To determine the frequency of genital chlamydial infections in the patients of an Ontario family planning clinic, endocervical swabs for tissue culture of Chlamydia trachomatis were taken. Incidence of this infection in our patient population was 7%. Most patients were asymptomatic. Treatment with two different regimens of tetracycline proved equally effective. Male partners of positive cases were encouraged to attend for urethral culture and treatment. The major challenge of this study was to educate patients about a disease of which most had never heard. Recommendations include: routine screening of all sexually active women under 25; culture for Chlamydia in all symptomatic patients, and treatment of sexual partner(s) of Chlamydia-positive patients.