A solid-phase enzyme immunoassay in detection of cervical gonorrhea in a low-prevalence population

An evaluation of a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay (Gonozyme) for detection of gonococcal antigen in cervical swab specimens was undertaken in 504 asymptomatic women undergoing routine gynecologic examination. The immunoassay was positive in all seven women with culture-proven gonorrhea. Negative immunoassay results were obtained in 482 of the 497 women with negative cultures (97.0 percent specificity). The enzyme immunoassay's performance equals or exceeds that of other rapid alternative methods of diagnosing cervical gonorrhea such as Gram stain or limulus lysate assay. Its usefulness, however, is limited by less than 100 percent specificity, particularly in low-prevalence populations. More studies are needed to ascertain the performance of both this immunoassay and modified Thayer-Martin culture techniques in diagnosing cervical gonorrhea in low-prevalence populations.