Journal Article

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in pregnancy: a retrospective analysis in a German urban area

Friese, Klaus, Weissenbacher, Tobias M., Kainer, Franz, Mylonas, Ioannis, Kupka, Markus S.

2011

Overview

Objective Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common bacterial sexual transmitted disease. Nearly 75% of all cases appear clinically unapparent and can cause, especially when getting chronically, infertility. Regarding pregnancy, a nationwide screening for C. trachomatis was established since April 1995. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of tested patients throughout these 7 years to evaluate the execution of the German guidelines. Materials and methods Between 2001 and 2007, 12,865 patients were evaluated retrospectively concerning a Chlamydia trachomatis testing. Results A test was performed for chlamydial infection in 10,088 patients (78.4%). 65 pregnant patients (0.5%) out of 1,008 tested patients were positive for Chlamydia trachomatis . The part of tested patients was rising significantly from 2001 to 2007. In 2001, 68.3% pregnant patients were tested. The number of screened patients increased continuously up to 85.2% in 2007 ( p  < 0.001). The percentage of positive tested patients ranged from 0.27% in 2003 to 0.74% in 2005 (mean 0.50%). Conclusion Since 1995, a screening for Chlamydia trachomatis has to be offered to every pregnant woman according to the German guidelines. The number of tested pregnant patients was rising from 68.3 to 85.2% within the evaluated 7 years, which would be a necessary and welcome trend. Interestingly, the mean prevalence of 0.5% of positive tested patients in this analysed urban population seems to be very low. An explanation might be the usage of the point-of-care (POC) tests and its low sensitivity. Testing by nucleic acid amplification might lead to a higher detection rate. Although the awareness concerning Chlamydia trachomatis testing during pregnancy seems to have been changed over the recent years, these data are still dissatisfactory.

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Chlamydia / Chlamydia Infections - diagnosis / Chlamydia Infections - epidemiology / Chlamydia trachomatis / Condoms / Cross-Sectional Studies / Endocrinology / Female / General Gynecology / Germany / Guideline Adherence / Gynecology / Human Genetics / Humans / Mass Screening - utilization / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery / Pregnancy / Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis / Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology / Prenatal Care - utilization / Retrospective Studies / Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - diagnosis / Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - epidemiology / Urban Population / Utilization Review