title: Rapid diagnosis of common sexually transmitted diseases in adolescents: a review.
abstract: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) represent a significant health problem for adolescents in the United States. As a result, clinicians from a number of disciplines, among them pediatrics and dermatology, may be called on to evaluate teenage patients with these infections. Traditionally, the diagnosis of many STDs has relied on isolation of the causative organisms in culture. While such procedures typically offer optimal diagnostic accuracy, they are often time consuming and expensive, and may not be widely available. In an attempt to remedy this, culture-independent techniques have been developed to permit more rapid and economical diagnosis of these important pathogens. The strengths and limitations of these methods must be understood, however, for the tests to be used effectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44109.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Krowchuk
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Anglin
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000191:economics; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000302:isolation & purification