Comparison of a DNA probe with culture for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis directly from genital specimens

A study was conducted to compare results between culture methods and the Gen-Probe (Gen-Probe Inc. San Diego, California) chemiluminescent technique of nucleic acid hybridization to identify Chlamydia trachomatis from genital specimens from 117 females and 70 males. Specimens collected from sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and infertility clinics were randomized as to whether probe or culture swabs were collected first. The Gen-Probe demonstrated a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 75% in the female population and a sensitivity of 68% and a specificity of 75% in the male population when compared to the reference culture method using cycloheximide-treated McCoy cells. Gen-Probe had an overall sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 75% when the two groups were combined. Chlamydiazyme (Abbott Labs) results were obtained on 135 specimens; 90 of which correlated with probe and culture. The remaining 45 specimens had varying combinations of probe, culture and Chlamydiazyme results. MicroTrak (Syva) was done on 49 specimens; 35 of which correlated with probe and culture. The remaining 14 specimens had varying combinations of probe, culture and MicroTrak results. The apparent lack of sensitivity of the DNA probe is a major drawback of this system.