摘要
Objective: To assess the feasibility of testing for chlamydia directly on a s ingle liquid based specimen (ThinPrep test) collected for cervical screening. Me thod: Cervical smears were taken using a Cervex spatula and rinsed in the liquid based cytology collection vial. Following this, the conventional sample for chl amydia testing was taken from the endocervix using an Abbott Collection kit. Cyt ological specimens were prepared using an automated slide processor. Residual ce llular material and the conventional samples were sent to the laboratory where b oth were tested for chlamydia by ligase chain reaction (LCR). The manufacturer’ s protocol for LCR urine testing was modified to substitute 1 ml of Preserv Cyt suspension. Results: 581 women had both swab and cytology suspension tested for Chlamydia trachomatis with LCR. There were 19 concordant positive and 562 conco rdant negative reports. The stability of chlamydia in the cytology suspension wa s maintained for at least 5 months. Conclusion: The findings lead us to conclude that samples collected for liquid based cytology using the ThinPrep test collec tion vial provide a potential platform for chlamydia screening, though the study established several issues to be addressed to make this a practical proposition .
Objective: To assess the feasibility of testing for chlamydia directly on a s ingle liquid based specimen (ThinPrep test) collected for cervical screening. Me thod: Cervical smears were taken using a Cervex spatula and rinsed in the liquid based cytology collection vial. Following this, the conventional sample for chl amydia testing was taken from the endocervix using an Abbott Collection kit. Cyt ological specimens were prepared using an automated slide processor. Residual ce llular material and the conventional samples were sent to the laboratory where b oth were tested for chlamydia by ligase chain reaction (LCR). The manufacturer' s protocol for LCR urine testing was modified to substitute 1 ml of Preserv Cyt suspension. Results: 581 women had both swab and cytology suspension tested for Chlamydia trachomatis with LCR. There were 19 concordant positive and 562 conco rdant negative reports. The stability of chlamydia in the cytology suspension wa s maintained for at least 5 months. Conclusion: The findings lead us to conclude that samples collected for liquid based cytology using the ThinPrep test collec tion vial provide a potential platform for chlamydia screening, though the study established several issues to be addressed to make this a practical proposition .
