Assessment of the Till-U-Test GC slide

The Till-U-Test (TUT) GC slide, a simple cultural procedure for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, was compared with a standard procedure using modified Thayer-Martin medium for laboratory confirmation of gonorrhoea in 144 patients. The TUT proved to be slightly more sensitive than the standard procedure. In 92.6% of all patients the results agreed, and in cases with positive results to Gram stain N gonorrhoeae was isolated in 93.6% with the TUT compared with 88.9% with the standard procedure. The TUT slide was easy to handle and produced results sooner than conventional methods. Thus the TUT could be very useful for presumptive diagnosis of gonorrhoea when full laboratory facilities are not readily available, as very little equipment is required.