Nursing management of the patient with Chlamydia trachomatis infection

Information on the recognition and management of clinical syndromes commonly caused by Chlamydia should be widely disseminated. Clinicians must be able to make risk assessments on their patients who may have asymptomatic disease. Because chlamydial infections are often undiagnosed, infected patients continue to spread the organisms to their sexual partners and to neonates. Sexual contacts of patients with Chlamydia or gonorrhea should receive treatment regimens effective against both organisms. Patients who are infected with gonorrhea should receive treatment regimens effective against both organisms. Chlamydia culture is the gold standard for detection of the organism. Antigen detection methods have been developed that offer a low-cost alternative to culture, but these tests are not ideal. Chlamydia tests are not a substitute for clinical experience and risk assessment by the nurse practitioner.